What does a Labour election win mean for the employment landscape?

Now that the dust has settled after the recent election, what does the Labour parliamentary majority mean for the employment law landscape?

Unsurprisingly, Labour’s Workplace Relations and Safety election manifesto was very employee centric with a heavy focus on support for workers which obviously resonated with its traditional base. As such, it is safe to assume that over the course of this parliamentary term, we will see quite an overhaul of our current employment laws.

So, what can we expect to see over the next three years?

• In the short term, Labour has promised to implement a major support package to assist businesses in hiring at least 40,000 New Zealanders whose employment has been impacted by COVID-19.
• A plan to make apprenticeships and trades training in targeted areas free. This will assist employers by providing them with a new stream of workers to train and employ.
• The minimum wage to be lifted to $20 per hour from 2021
• Sick leave entitlement to be doubled to ten days per annum
• A more streamlined and transparent process to make it easier for equal pay claims to be made.
• ‘Fair Pay Agreements’ to be implemented which would introduce minimum terms and conditions of employment for all workers across a sector or industry.
• Legislation protections for ‘dependent contractors’ i.e. those workers who work under the control of a single employer but are not classified as ‘employees’ under current law. At present, these workers do not receive the same legal protection provided to employees so we can expect to see legislation that allows these workers to enter into collective bargaining and to be entitled to other basic employment rights.
• A simplification of the Holidays Act especially in relation to issues such as allowing employees to take sick or annual leave when needed as well as annual leave accruing from the start of employment instead of after 12 months of employment as is currently the case.

This was an unprecedented election result which reflects the unprecedented time that we now live in. It allows the Labour Party the opportunity to implement far reaching changes across many different areas of life and undoubtedly the rights of workers will be at the forefront of many of these changes.

Irrespective of whether you are an employer or an employee, it is imperative that you stay up to date with how these changes will affect you. If you require any advice or assistance, our team of experienced employer lawyers will be here to ensure that you have all of the information and processes that you need to best address your situation. Please get in contact at 0800 LEGAL 1 or info@wakefieldslaw.com.