Hobbit legislation succeeds only in creating more uncertainty

Even with a last-minute amendment, National has made employment law less, not more, certain, as a result of the Hobbit bill, says Labour’s Associate Justice Spokesperson Charles Chauvel.

“The law governing the status of workers in New Zealand has been well-settled for the past five and a half years, since the Supreme Court decision in Bryson v Three Foot Six Ltd,” Charles Chauvel said.

“There have been no significant cases since then on whether workers are employees or contractors, so there was no need to change the law under urgency in the way National has just done.

“The sad outcome is that changing it in the way the Government has done creates more, not less, uncertainty:

o The law makes all film workers contractors, not employees;
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o But if they are party to a written employment agreement, they will be employees;
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o No clarity is provided about what amounts to a written employment agreement;
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o Big incentives exist, especially in the event of a dispute arising, for film workers to claim employment rather than contractor status;
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o There is likely to be more, not less, litigation, as a result of this law change.
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“The debate on the Hobbit bill has been characterised by misrepresentation and misinterpretation of the law,” Charles Chauvel said.

“It has been a rushed process and has resulted in a law that will have the opposite effect of what the Government wanted.”

ENDS

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