Duynhoven Harry: Holidays (Transfer of Public Holidays) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Duynhoven Harry: Holidays (Transfer of Public Holidays) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:647;Page:15873] 
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN (Minister for Transport Safety) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister of Labour 
: I move  
That the Holidays (Transfer of Public Holidays) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 It is a pleasure to speak on behalf of the Hon Trevor Mallard the Minister of Labour. I intend to move that the Holidays (Transfer of Public Holidays) Amendment Bill be considered by the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee and that the committee report finally to the House on or before 22 July 2008 and that the committee have the authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions and during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House despite Standing Orders 192 and 195(1)(b) and (c). 
This bill amends the Holidays Act 2003 in relation to the transfer of public holidays for employees whose work shift crosses midnight. It will ensure that when a shift spans 2 days at least one of which is a public holiday an agreement can be reached by an employer and an employee so that the public holiday can be recognised on one whole shift. 
This legislation is needed following a recent Supreme Court decision that found that an employer and employee cannot agree to transfer a public holiday from a day listed in the Holidays Act to another day. The Holidays Act was intended to give employers and employees the flexibility to agree to transfer a public holiday from a day listed in the Holidays Act. This could be for reasons of cultural or personal significance or for reasons of convenience. 
The current situation of not being able to transfer public holidays is having a particularly disruptive effect on shift-based operations. In these businesses many employees whose work shift crosses midnight are not able to enjoy a full shift as a public holiday. Many shift-based operations are experiencing increased production and payroll costs; for example business compliance costs are increased where employees’ wages have to be calculated at differing rates for an entire shift when the shift crosses into a public holiday. 
Currently where a business chooses to close down on the public holiday employees may be required to work up to midnight when the public holiday starts and to complete their shift from midnight at the end of the public holiday. Such arrangements are not reflective of the overall intent of the Holidays Act to promote balance between work and other aspects of employees’ lives. 
This bill responds to the needs of businesses that operate over 24-hour periods and to the needs of their employees to ensure that employers will have the flexibility to transfer a public holiday in line with their business needs and that employees working shifts that span 2 days are able to enjoy the application of a public holiday to one whole shift. The bill provides that where an employee’s shift spans 2 calendar days and one of those days is a public holiday an employer and employee can enter into a genuine agreement to transfer the public holiday to a 24-hour period that begins or ends on the public holiday if the employee is due to work a shift in that 24-hour period. 
The bill also provides for situations where an employee’s shift spans 2 public holidays; for example an employee who starts work on Christmas Day and finishes on Boxing Day. In this situation an employer and employee can agree that two separate periods of 24 hours are to be treated as public holidays if each period starts or finishes during those public holidays. These provisions reflect the intent behind allowing transfer while also maintaining a connection to the actual public holidays. 
The bill requires that agreements concerning the transfer of public holidays be in writing. This will ensure that employers and employees are clear about their public holiday arrangements. The bill also clarifies that the period agreed to be treated as a public holiday will be a public holiday whether or not the employee actually works during that period. The provisions of the Holidays Act that apply to public holidays will apply to that period. Employees who do not work in the period that has been agreed as the public holiday are able to enjoy a full shift off as a paid public holiday. Employees who work in the period will receive time and a half for the entire shift and an alternative holiday. This ensures that agreements to transfer public holidays do not lead to a reduction in the number of paid public holidays that would otherwise be available to the employee. 
The bill makes consequential amendments to the Holidays Act in respect of the definition of a public holiday and the provisions that were intended to allow for transfer of public holidays. The bill amends the definition of a public holiday in the Holidays Act to clarify that a public holiday is a day listed in the Holidays Act and that if there is a transfer agreement a public holiday will include the period agreed to be treated as a public holiday. As this bill applies only to employees whose work period crosses midnight the bill clarifies that a transfer of public holidays can occur only in these limited circumstances. 
This bill responds to the needs of employers and employees. For this reason it has the support of both Business New Zealand and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. It reflects the Labour-led Government’s policy to provide holiday and leave entitlements that are appropriate to accommodate increased diversity in working patterns. It also responds to the diverse work-life circumstances that are common in New Zealand while balancing the needs of employers and employees. I commend this bill to the House.