“The frustrations both employers and workers are facing are connected. Labour market regulations are becoming increasingly complex, making it harder for employers and workers to reach solutions that work for both of them,” she told the chamber’s members.
“Flexible labour markets are the best environment for businesses to grow. When businesses thrive, our economy thrives. It’s only with a strong economy that we can lift wages, create opportunities and help Kiwis get ahead.”
She said delivering improvements to the Holidays Act was one of her top priorities.
The act had struggled to keep up with working arrangements that differed from a standard five-day, 40-hour week, she said.
Other problems include complex processes and calculations that could lead to businesses becoming unknowingly non-compliant, and workers finding it difficult to be sure they had received their statutory entitlements.
“The problems with the Holidays Act have been experienced so widely, most employers would have found themselves non-compliant at some point in time,” van Velden said.
“The first action I am going to take is to make sure that any changes to the act are workable and are a material improvement on the status quo.
“I am also committed to getting feedback from the stakeholders who will eventually have to work with the act. We need the act to be workable for everyone, from the multinational corporates to the small-town family-run restaurants.”
Van Velden also said there were parts of the Employment Relations Act that could do better at lifting productivity and economic growth.
“It is essential that the Employment Relations Act strikes the right balance between labour market and regulatory flexibility, certainty of obligations and outcomes, and protection for workers.
“An important part of changes to the act comes from the Act-National coalition agreement commitment to better protect choice and freedom to contract for workers and businesses.”
She said the status quo had created uncertainty for contractors and businesses because of contractors’ ability to challenge their employment status if they believed they should be classified as employees.
“This Government wishes to ensure businesses and workers who explicitly agree to a contracting arrangement have certainty about the nature of that relationship.
“I have asked my officials for advice on policy options to increase certainty in contracting relationships.
“I want to achieve certainty for contracting parties, so that their intent when entering into a contract for services is upheld.”
Also part of the Act-National coalition agreement was the requirement for the Government to consider changes to simplify personal grievances.
This included considering a high-income threshold above which a personal grievance could not be pursued, and removing the eligibility for remedies if the employee was at fault, van Velden said.
“Personal grievances are intended to protect employees from unfair employer behaviour, something we know happens, but I don’t consider we currently have the balance right.
“I have heard that the process for pursuing a personal grievance claim can be slow, costly, and can incentivise employees to pursue grievances even where their behaviour has contributed to the employment relationship problem.
“Employers can be dragged through personal grievance processes by vexatious employees. It can impose significant legal costs on businesses and impact their reputation, for which there is no redress.”
Lastly, van Velden said she intended to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and responsiveness of frontline services
This included setting performance targets for the employment relations and employment standards system and the health and safety system, as well as performance measures for the frontline services within them.
“It is essential that the frontline services in the workplace relations system are performing well for New Zealanders and are providing value-for-money services,” she said.
“It is also essential that we know how well our regulatory systems are performing.
“I want to ensure that these frontline services are focusing their energy and resources on areas where they can have the most significant impact and that both taxpayer funds and the Health and Safety at Work levy are being spent responsibly.”
She said she was proud to have already delivered two important priorities under the Government’s 100-day plan: abolishing Fair Pay Agreements and expanding the availability of 90-day trials.
“I hope – and expect – you will hold us accountable for achieving [this] ... I see real opportunities within my role to contribute to positive change that enables New Zealanders to prosper.”
Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based journalist with the Herald business team. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports.
