Probationary work bill should go to Committee

Media statement Thursday, March 2, 2006

Important for grievance-free probationary work periods Bill to go to Select Committee

MP’s of all parties should allow Wayne Mapp’s Bill providing for 90 day grievance-free periods of employment to be heard and debated by Parliament’s Select Committee, says David Lowe, Employment Services Manager for EMA (Northern).

“The Bill would encourage employers to take a risk on employing someone they might not otherwise; it would build confidence in employing people,”Mr Lowe said.

“Those who stand to benefit most are:

teenagers whose unemployment rate is four times the national average,

new migrants whose skills are often not well used,

other groups whose unemployment rates exceed the average.

“MP’s voted to send the Green’s Bill on abolishing youth rates to the Select Committee for debate and its fair and consistent that the grievance-free employment Bill is heard as well.”

“The grievance industry is a huge issue, one of the biggest employment problems.

“The risk of getting a personal grievance from a disaffected employee puts employers off hiring people.

“An initial trial period to see how things work out is a common approach we all use in other aspects of our lives, and makes sense in this area too.

“Many other countries have very similar legislation, including Australia.

“With good staff hard to find nowadays, the risk that employers will abuse a provision of this sort is very low. They will not churn their workforce to avoid the risk of a future grievance, in the same way that most employers pay higher than minimum youth rates for a useful teenager”.

ENDS

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