Lieu day power switch

By KEVIN TAYLOR

Employees will be able to choose when to take lieu days under the Holidays Bill, says the Employers and Manufacturers Association northern branch.

EMA manager of employment services Graeme Perfect said the provision differed from present law.

Under the bill, all employees receive 11 paid public holidays a year, and are entitled to an alternative day if they work on the public holiday that is normally the day they work.

But under the bill if the employer and employee cannot agree on the date to take the lieu day, the employee can determine it.

Perfect said he did not know what it would mean in practice.

At present most employment agreements had a provision that required discussion, and in the absence of any agreement the employer would fix the date.

Perfect said the bill appeared to let employees refuse the lieu day that suited the employer. A spokeswoman for Labour Minister Margaret Wilson confirmed the bill allowed employees to choose if there was no agreement, although they had to "take into account" convenience to the employer.