The Government has announced a package of measures to prevent unfair employment practices in the New Zealand labour market, such as “zero-hour contracts.”
The new measures prohibit employers not committing any hours of work, but expecting employees to be available when required, as well as employers cancelling a shift without reasonable notice or compensation to the employee.
These measures also prohibit employers putting unreasonable restrictions on secondary employment of employees, and also prohibit employers making unreasonable deductions from employees’ wages.
The changes will also mean that where the employer and employee agree to a set amount of hours, they will be required to state those hours in the employment agreement.
All these changes will be reflected in an employment standards bill which will be introduced to Parliament later this year. The bill will go through a normal select committee process including public submissions before it is passed into law.
Before the new law comes into force, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) will develop an information and education plan to inform businesses, including small businesses, and workers of the changes.
