In the July edition of the Lane Neave Workplace Law Newsletter:
Pay equity in New Zealand
Pay equity is an ongoing topic in New Zealand. Pay equity means gender does not affect what people are paid and women receive the same pay as men for doing the same work, and also for doing work that is different, but of equal value.
Last October, the Government announced the formation of the Joint Working Group to develop principles for dealing with claims of pay equity under the Equal Pay Act 1972. The Joint Working Group included unions and employers and was set up after a rest home worker, Kristine Bartlett, won a court battle after arguing her $14.32 hourly rate was the result of gender discrimination.
The “fair and reasonable” employer
The Auckland Employment Relations Authority (Authority) has ordered Metropolitan Glass & Glazing Ltd (Metro Glass) to reinstate an employee and pay him the sum of $57,387.48 after the Authority found his suspension and dismissal to be both substantively unjustified and procedurally unfair.
Sleepover workers win pay case
Sleepover workers have won a claim for minimum pay in Hay and others v Blind & Low Vision Education Network NZ (2016 NZERA Auckland 138; 3/05/2016; T Tetitaha). This case follows on from a string of sleepover cases where the Courts have ruled that employees should receive minimum wage while working sleepover shifts.
Closure of Immigration New Zealand’s Queenstown Office / centralised processing
Following a lengthy review, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has announced that the INZ Queenstown Office will close before the end of August 2016.
Officially the review has concluded that as a large proportion of Queenstown applications are being submitted online, hardcopy applications can be managed by other INZ branches, without impacting the timeliness of INZ’s processing services.
Workplace Law team
If you have any queries in respect of the above, or any other Workplace Law issues, please contact a member of Lane Neave’s Workplace Law team:
Employment: Andrew Shaw, Julia Hurren, Fiona McMillan, Jackie Behrnes, Siobhan Rastrick, Gwen Drewitt; Holly Swadel
Immigration: Mark Williams, Rachael Mason, Nicky Robertson, Hetish Lochan
ACC: Andrew Shaw
Health and Safety: Andrew Shaw, Julia Hurren, Fiona McMillan, Gwen Drewitt
Click here for other Employment Law or Immigration Law articles.
