Employment Standards Legislation Bill

On Tuesday, 8 September 2015 Parliament referred the Employment Standards Legislation Bill to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee for consideration and report to the House by Friday, 12 February 2016.

The Employment Standards Legislation Bill is an omnibus bill. The amendments deal with the implementation of a single broad policy aiming to promote fairer and more productive workplaces by providing protections and benefits to both employers and employees through a number of changes to the employment relations/employment standards legislative framework.

It is intended to divide the bill at the committee of the whole House stage so that:

Part 1 becomes the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill

Part 2 becomes the Employment Relations Amendment Bill

Part 3 becomes the Holidays Amendment Bill

Part 4 becomes the Minimum Wage Amendment Bill

Part 5 becomes the Wages Protection Amendment Bill.

The closing date for submissions is Tuesday, 6 October 2015. There will only be four weeks for the submission process, which is a shorter timeframe than normal, so the committee is encouraging submitters to ensure they meet this deadline. If you have concerns about the deadline please contact the committee secretariat by email at transport.industrialrelations@parliament.govt.nz, or contact Steven Mitchell, Parliamentary Officer (Administration) by phone on 04 817 9560 or by email at steven.mitchell@parliament.govt.nz.

Submitters are also asked to consider the content of the press release issued by the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety at 1pm on Tuesday 8 September 2015. The release advises of suggested changes to parental leave provisions in the bill to cater for eligible parents of preterm babies. The press release can be accessed here :http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/pplextended-parents-pre-term-babies.

Submissions should be forwarded using either the online process at www.parliament.nz or in writing to the address below. Submitters who wish to appear before the committee need to state this clearly. Submissions are publicly released and published to the Parliament website.

Only your name or organisation’s name is required on a submission. Please keep your contact details separate, as if they are included on the submission they will become publicly available when the submission is released. If you wish to include information of a private or personal nature in your submission you should discuss this with the clerk of the committee before submitting.

For further guidance on making a submission please read Making a submission to a parliamentary select committee on Parliament’s website, or contact the committee secretariat using the details provided above.

Address for correspondence: Transport and Industrial Relations Committee, Parliament Buildings, WELLINGTON 6160.

ENDS.

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