The arrival of this Government Bill has been preceded by several announcements in recent months about planned changes to the Employment Relations Act 2000. These changes will come into force the day after Royal assent (cl 2), subject to a number of transitional provisions (cl 20 and Schedule).

The general policy statement in the Bill’s explanatory note begins as follows:

“The purpose of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill (the Bill) is to implement the Government’s employment relations commitments and support the Government’s ‘Going for Growth’ agenda, by helping to make New Zealand’s business settings more competitive. Together, these changes will enhance labour market flexibility, reduce compliance costs, and re-tilt the personal grievance system to better balance employer and employee interests and discourage poor behaviour.

“The Employment Relations Act 2000 (the Act) is the principal piece of employment legislation that regulates employment relationships. While some of the Act’s settings provide the flexibility that employers need to grow and innovate, other settings have, over time, constrained flexibility and created unintended costs and risks for employers.

“In addressing some of the above shortcomings, this Bill introduces changes to the Act to—

• provide greater certainty for contracting parties; and
• strengthen the consideration of and accountability for the employee’s behaviour in the personal grievance process; and
• introduce a wages and salary threshold for unjustified dismissal personal grievances; and
• remove the ‘30-day rule’ and associated compliance and information requirements to support the expansion of 90-day trials and reduce red tape at the start of employment.

“The intent is that those changes will provide businesses with the confidence and support to grow, hire, innovate, and increase incomes. This is especially the case for small-to-medium-sized businesses, which may not have the support or resources to navigate some of the current settings that this Bill aims to simplify or remove.”

The Bill proposes to amend the Act by:

• inserting new ss 67I, 67J, 113A, 113B, 123B and 123C in the Act;
• amending ss 5, 6, 62, 63A, 67B, 103A, 123, 123A, 124 and sch 1AA; and
• repealing ss 30A, 62A, 63 and 63B.

For further information about this Bill (and others), see Employment Law (online ed, Thomson Reuters) at Pending and Proposed Employment Legislation Changes on Westlaw New Zealand.