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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Poll: 🗑️ Would you be keen to switch to a fortnightly rubbish collection, or do you prefer things as they are?
Aucklanders, our weekly rubbish collections are staying after councillors voted to scrap a proposed trial of fortnightly pick-ups.
We want to hear from you: would you be keen to switch to a fortnightly rubbish collection, or do you prefer things as they are?
Keen for the details? Read up about the scrapped collection trial here.
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83.9% Same!
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16.1% Would have liked to try something different
7 tips for buying your Christmas ham
It’s the centerpiece of the Christmas table, so when you’re peering into the supermarket chiller or ordering from the butcher, choosing the perfect ham can feel like a daunting task.
Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing one to bring home with you.
1. What type of ham to buy
You’ve got some decisions to make when it comes to the type of Christmas ham you’re going to buy.
Cooked on the bone (COB) ham is the traditional Christmas ham. If you’re buying a half ham, you’ll have the choice of the shank or fillet end. The shank is the part with the bone sticking out that gives the ham that traditional look. The fillet end is the round part that gives more meat. If you’re deciding whether to get a whole ham or half, consider how quickly you’ll be able to eat it all. You only have about a week to eat an opened ham before it will go off, so it can be a good idea to get two halves. That way you can eat one half during the week of Christmas and save the other for January.
Champagne ham has had the bone removed and only has the hock left on, so it’s easier to carve.
Pressed ham – also known as continental ham – has had the bones removed and has been pressed, so it’s also easy to carve.
2. Check the pork percentage
The label on a packaged ham will say what percentage is actually meat. Hams are injected with brine, to keep them moist, and additives. The brine injection level for manufactured hams is usually between 10% and 35% of the ham's weight. A manufacturer that wants to produce a cheap ham will add more water to bump up the weight.
3. Know how to tell if it’s New Zealand pork
By far, most of the hams bought in New Zealand this Christmas will be from pigs reared overseas. New Zealand imports pork from about 25 countries. It’s frustrating for New Zealand pig farmers because this ham can come from farms that don’t have to meet the same animal welfare standards as we have in this country. As a result, overseas meat is often cheaper.
If buying New Zealand pork is important to you, look for:
words on the packaging like ‘New Zealand pork’ or ‘born and raised in New Zealand’
4. Have a good look at the ham
If you’re going to be glazing your ham, look for one that is covered in a finger-thick layer of fat. This will give you the thickness you need to make good score lines.
New Zealand Pork’s website also advises looking for a ham that has a meaty texture rather than one that looks wet or rubbery. It says the ham’s skin should be smooth with even colouring. “If the knuckle is sunken, it may be overcooked. If the rind is buckled or uneven, it may be a sign of dryness.”
5. Ask a lot of questions
If you’re ordering your pork from a butcher, you probably won’t be able to compare hams like you would at the supermarket. So, make sure you ask lots of questions, now that you know what you’re looking for.
You could ask:
Is the ham made from New Zealand born and farmed pork?
What will be its injection percentage?
What flavours will it have?
You could even ask if there’s a glaze the butcher thinks would work particularly well with those flavours.
6. Know what size you’ll need
If the ham is the only meat on your Christmas menu, New Zealand Pork advises allowing 1kg of ham for five people. Or if you’ve got other meat options, 1kg will feed about six to eight people.
7. Know the best hams in New Zealand
The best hams of the year were awarded at the 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards earlier in the year so you can check out which ones got medals. Some of them are only available in the city the butcher is based, but a Farmland boneless ham available nationwide won a gold award and Woolworths bone-in and boneless hams picked up bronze.
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