The PM has flagged changes to leave entitlements for some workers
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is suggesting the Government will soon announce Holidays Act reform that cuts sick leave entitlements for part-time workers.
It follows last year’s proposed changes to the plagued legislation that sought to help businesses the Government says are struggling with the Labour decision to double sick leave for all eligible workers.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB ahead of his trip to China and Europe, Luxon was asked about sick leave entitlements and said an announcement was incoming.
“We might need to do things about pro-rating sick leave as well because people who were on part-time contracts are getting fulltime 10-day equivalency, so Brooke van Velden’s working through some of those issues.”
Luxon said the changes would be announced alongside other related reform by van Velden in her capacity as Workplace Relations Minister.
In a statement, van Velden said she hoped to make an announcement in the coming months about pro-rated sick leave.
She confirmed it would not involve a reduction from 10 days to five days, which Luxon suggested van Velden was looking into on RNZ this morning.
Green Party Workplace Relations spokesperson Teanau Tuiono said changing sick leave entitlements was “nothing short of an attack on the morale and productivity of our workforce”.
“The Government is making a habit of revealing such changes at the start of Winter when seasonal illnesses, flu and Covid are placing many families under strain,” he said.
He reiterated his party’s policy of five weeks of annual leave for all.
Pro-rating sick leave would mean part-time workers would be allocated this type of leave based on how many hours or days they worked.
This approach was proposed in an exposure draft of a bill amending the Holidays Act announced by van Velden in June last year.
“Workplaces that rely on part-time workers are particularly vulnerable to unexpected staffing shortages. To explore this issue further, the exposure draft set for consultation will include a proposed approach to pro-rating sick leave, to better reflect how much an employee works,” she said in a June 2024 press release.
The draft also proposed changing how annual leave was provided, moving from an entitlement system to an accrual system.
In December, following consultation, van Velden admitted the draft bill would not solve the issues with the Holidays Act and had told officials to re-think the changes.
“Not only have I heard from submitters that further simplification is possible, but there were some who believed that what we put out for consultation was more complex and had higher compliance costs than the legislation we have now.”
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Christmas gifts stolen from parked car prompts warning over holiday break-ins
An Auckland man whose Christmas presents were stolen from his car on a quiet street is warning others not to repeat his mistake.
Police and the AA say opportunistic thieves are breaking into cars more frequently during the Christmas period.
Jeremy Rees, an RNZ staff member in Auckland, had packed his car full of gifts when he decided to visit a friend.
“Everyone had handed over presents and we had a couple of bags full of presents sitting in the back of the car,” he said.
“I decided it would be great to go around and see a friend, drop off some presents and say hello. My wife said to me, ‘Are you sure we should be taking this car?’ I said, ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine’.
“I think it was only 20 minutes outside their house, a very quiet street. It was light [outside]. We came out and my wife pointed out that someone had smashed the rear window, reached in and grabbed the presents, and headed away.
“It was a shock. It was a shock partly because of the Christmas presents and partly because my wife had been telling me, ‘Don’t do that’.”
AA Insurance head of motor claims Beau Paparoa said roadside staff were responding to smashed windows more often.
“We definitely see car break-ins starting to occur a lot more around this time of year. We’re often hearing from customers and some of our roadside teams that there’s definitely a bit more opportunistic theft happening,” he said.
“We’re putting that down to it being a busy time of year. Everyone’s out doing their Christmas shopping and there’s much more presence of gifts and valuables being visible in the car.”
He encouraged people to be careful and make sure valuables were hidden from view.
“In terms of any valuables, if you’ve done some Christmas shopping, or if generally you’ve got valuables in your car, try [to] keep them locked away or out of sight – in your boot if you can,” he said.
“Where you’re parking is possibly a good thing to think about. If you can afford to, don’t park on the street, but if you have to park on-street, make sure you park in well-lit areas.”
Police said it was not uncommon for Christmas presents to be stolen.
“The key is to remove any opportunity. This includes taking valuables or documents out of vehicles wherever possible,” a spokesperson said.
Rees said he wished he had followed that advice.
“I feel a bit stupid, to be absolutely honest. I read all of the things from police saying ‘don’t do this, don’t pack your car, don’t just leave it on the street’, and I did exactly the opposite and I paid the price.”
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Auckland Harbour Bridge summer works
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi is carrying out essential maintenance on the Auckland Harbour Bridge this December and January. The southbound clip-on lanes will be closed (24/7) from 26 December to 5 January for road resurfacing. Night-time lane restrictions will be in place throughout the summer for recoating work on the bridge. Traffic will still be able to travel in both directions at all times.
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