The NZCTU welcomes today’s announcement that the Government will accept the 22 recommended changes to the Holidays Act made by the Holidays Act Taskforce, of which CTU President Richard Wagstaff was a member.

"The working group committed to making it easier for employers to understand the law so that they could apply the intent of the law correctly. The current Holidays Act has been poorly understood and implemented resulting in large numbers of working people not getting their correct entitlements, and large, lengthy and costly remediation processes undertaken to correct past mistakes and make firms legally compliant. These changes should make implementation of the Act easier. " Wagstaff said.

"There are some significant recommendations which will make life better for working people" including -

- Entitling eligible employees to bereavement leave and family violence leave from their first day of employment.

- Giving eligible employees one day’s sick leave from their first day of employment, with an additional day given per month until the minimum entitlement is reached.

- Extending bereavement leave to include more family members, including cultural family groups and more modern family structures.

- Removing the current parental leave ‘override’ to address discrimination against parents who take time off to care for their young children. Removing this provision will mean that employees returning to work following parental leave will be paid at their full rate for annual holidays.

- Requiring payslips, so employees know what their used and remaining leave entitlements are, and how these were calculated.

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