The Finance and Expenditure Committee has called for public submissions on the Employment Relations (Protection for Kiwisaver Members) Amendment Bill.

This bill aims to restore some key financial protections given to KiwiSaver members by the Employment Relations Act 2000, which were amended by the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2008 and resulted in employers not being legally required to offer the same terms or benefits to someone enrolled in KiwiSaver as they do to someone who is not. The bill therefore also aims to ensure that workers cannot be discriminated against because they are members of a KiwiSaver scheme or a complying superannuation fund.

Under current legislation, employers are not legally obliged to offer workers enrolled in KiwiSaver the same terms of employment, salary or wages, conditions of work, fringe benefits, or opportunities for training and promotion and transfer, as a worker not enrolled in the scheme. Employers are also permitted to offset pay increases against workers’ KiwiSaver contributions. These settings could potentially disadvantage New Zealanders saving for their retirement, as they expose KiwiSaver members to potential discrimination due to their membership, meaning they may receive lesser protections than people who are not members of KiwiSaver. This bill aims to achieve more equal employment relations conditions for KiwiSaver members as those who do not belong to the scheme.

Tell the Finance and Expenditure Committee what you think

Make a submission on the bill by midnight on Monday, 30 October 2023.

For more details about the bill:

· Read the full content of the bill

· What’s been said in Parliament about the bill?

· Follow the committee’s Facebook page for updates
 

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