Tamihere John: Holidays Bill — Second Reading 
Tamihere John: Holidays Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:614;Page:10453] 
Hon JOHN TAMIHERE (Minister of Youth Affairs) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Labour 
: I move  
That the Holidays Bill be now read a second time 
. I thank members of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee for their diligent work on the bill. The committee received more than 4000 submissions which clearly indicates the high level of interest in this area. 
I would like to draw the attention of members to the following key amendments to the bill recommended by the committee. The bill heralds a fundamental and necessary change to employment standards in New Zealand. It will increase minimum annual holidays entitlements from 3 weeks to 4 weeks effective from 1 April 2007. We recognise the change to 4 weeks’ annual holiday will create issues for employers that need to be carefully managed thus the long lead-time given. This will enable employers and their employees sufficient time to plan and to manage the change. 
This change recognises that New Zealand employees deserve to enjoy 4 weeks’ annual holiday as much as their counterparts across the Tasman or in the UK. It has been 30 years since the last increase in the minimum annual holiday entitlement. We cannot keep annual holiday entitlements in a time warp. We would like to note the support of New Zealand First and the Green Party for this measure. I am sure those employees who already receive 4 weeks’ annual holiday will testify to the benefits this brings to their work and to their personal lives and families. Achieving a better work-life balance is becoming increasingly important in our often hectic and harried lives. This Government wants those benefits to be experienced by all employees not just those with enlightened employers or sufficient bargaining power to secure these benefits for themselves. 
There has been a lot of attention to the flow-on implications of this increase. Some employees will already have 4 weeks’ annual holiday in their employment agreements. It is true that these employees can seek to renegotiate their entitlement but the outcome of any such negotiation is up to the employers employees and the unions. If employers consider a higher annual entitlement as a useful tool for retention purposes or to reward long service this is their choice. Increasing the minimum annual holiday entitlement is also important if New Zealand is to compete successfully against other countries in attracting and retaining skilled people. 
The committee has also recommended amendments to the bill to address submitters’ concerns about the payment of annual holidays. The key change in this area is that the ability to be paid for annual holidays on a pay-as-you-go basis has been extended to employees who are employed so sporadically that it is meaningless and extremely difficult for the employer to provide them with annual holidays. This provides a sensible balance but this provision needs to be used appropriately. 
A range of submitters raised concerns with regard to what they describe as casual employees. However we would suggest that in many of those cases the employees were not truly casual employees and could easily be provided with annual holidays. The arrangements for taking annual holidays during close-down periods have also been amended in response to concerns raised by submitters about the restriction it seemed to place on employer activities. It has been made clear that there is only one close-down period a year in which employers can direct their employees to take annual holidays. This does not stop employers from having other periods of closure. The arrangements for any additional periods of closure will have to be by agreement between employers employees and unions. 
In terms of public holidays one of the key provisions in the bill is that all employees should genuinely be paid rate and a half for the time they work on a public holiday. This acknowledges the fact that the employee is sacrificing a day of national religious or cultural significance he or she could otherwise spend in relaxation or celebration with friends and family. Submitters did however raise concerns about how rate and a half can be provided to an employee in practice. The committee recommended amendments to the bill to clarify how rate and a half is to be calculated. As well as this we want to ensure that employers employees and unions understand what the requirement to pay rate and a half for time worked on a public holiday means for them and that employees are genuinely provided with that. To address these concerns the bill now provides that the employment agreements will have to include a specific provision stating that rate and a half will be paid for work on a public holiday. 
The bill proposes separate entitlements for sick leave and bereavement leave. This is a change from the 5 days of special leave provided in the Holidays Act to cover both types of leave. Submitters generally reacted positively to this measure. However one of the major concerns that employer submitters had on the bill was their inability to require medical certificates from employees who were sick for 5 days or less. The committee has recognised that there may be circumstances where proof of entitlement may be appropriate and that a 5-day period of restrictions may have been too restrictive. The committee has proposed an amendment to the bill to allow employers to require medical certificates from employees away on sick leave for 3 successive calendar days rather than the 5 days originally proposed. This change achieves a fair balance between the rights and interests of employers and employees. Changes to the eligibility criteria for sick and bereavement leave reflects concerns from submitters that some groups of employees may have been unable to access this leave. Access to sick and bereavement leave has been extended to employees who have worked for an average of 10 hours per week and at least 40 hours per month for the same employer for 6 months. 
 In conclusion on behalf of the Hon Margaret Wilson I thank members of the committee again for their work. Already a good bill has been further improved by their efforts. The bill represents an important step towards achieving the Government’s vision of New Zealand as a great place to live to learn to work and to do business. It is a key component of the employment relations framework put in place by this Government. Minimum standards such as those provided in the bill promote fair dealings protect vulnerable employees and prevent a race to the bottom. Businesses in the economy will not flourish unless employees have a good working environment—one where rights and obligations are appropriately balanced so that each party is best placed to contribute to positive and productive employment relationships. I commend the Holidays Bill to the House.