Hubbard Foods (Employment Relations Bill)
Are we seeing the effects of the Employment Relations Act 2000 before it is even introduced?
Some of you may have seen the article in the Herald on April 2nd which to me tended to give the impression the writer had some sympathy towards the union and employee claims against Hubbard Foods.
By all accounts, Hubbard Foods appears to be a middle of the road employer in terms of pay rates-it may not be the highest, but is certainly not at the lowest end of the pay scale either.
It would appear form the article that Dick Hubbard does indeed build effective relationships with his employees e.g.
- He does not wear a suit and tie.
- He provides KFC for lunch meetings.
- He regularly walks the floor to talk with staff.
- He has taken staff off shore for a holiday.
The article quotes Darien Fenton, National Secretary of the Service and Food Workers Union, as saying Dick was failing to be progressive and was out of touch with his employees.
| If: |
- Taking staff on a holiday to Samoa
- Providing KFC lunches
- Allowing staff to use their 5 days allocated Special Leave (sick leave) as additional annual leave
- Providing employees additional time off if genuinely sick
- Providing additional time off for Bereavement Leave
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| is not in some way progressive, then what is? |
Hubbard Foods were also criticised for not introducing paid Parental Leave or crèche facilities for employees.
It would indeed be interesting to survey some of the major businesses in NZ to ascertain what percentage of companies do in fact provide paid Parental Leave and crèche facilities. My guess is the actual number of companies who do provide these benefits is very low.
Dick Hubbard needs to be praised for his style and approach to employee management. His only failing is perhaps his generosity and unfailing belief and faith in others. This is a failing that we should all aspire to, employers and employees alike, particularly in light of the proposed introduction of the Employment Relations Act and its emphasis on 'Good Faith Bargaining'.
Review the summary of the E.R Bill under the Employment Law and HR section of this site (subscriber access only)
It would appear the Services and Food Workers Union wants to capitalise on the pending enactment of the E.R Act for its recruitment drive, by creating a disturbance at Hubbard Foods, yet seems it has not applied any good faith process or practice itself in doing so. One wonders who alerted the Herald writer, the union? , they may certainly gain some advantage.
What does this mean for other employers?
Make certain you document and record carefully all payments and benefits provided to employees. It would appear that Hubbard Foods, as have many employers, rationalised allowances and added these to the base rates to give a new higher rate. This certainly makes the payroll process easier and employees know exactly how much they are due to receive each pay period. Previously employees would have different wages each week because of allowances being paid for specific shifts and hours.
If a Union starts to discuss the reintroduction of allowances, you will need to be able to show how the allowances are already built into the base rate. If the Union are looking to increase the allowance rate, you will need to remove the rate form the base rate, recalculate the increase, then add the allowance rate back into the base rate.
Do not simply adjust the base rate by a percentage as this simply increases your overall wage bill and effectively means you have increased not only your allowance rates but also the base rate as well.
There are a couple of sample wage calculation forms under the Employment Law and HR section of this site (subscriber access only)
In addition to the introduction of Good Faith Bargaining in the E.R Bill, due to be enacted on August 1st, unions will also have the right to allocate Employment Education Leave to employees, at the employer's expense. Further, if an employee wishes to be covered by a collective agreement they have to belong to the applicable Union, and employers will have to allow employees who are union members to attend 2 union meetings per year and be paid for attending these for up to 2 hours at each meeting.
Unions may also request information from employers to assist them during the bargaining process and such information could include company financial and business planning and forecasting information.
If you are a progressive and innovative employer like Dick Hubbard, be aware that the cost of managing your human resource is likely to increase following the introduction of the Employment Relations Act in August. Make sure your house is in order and that you understand the ramifications of the new legislation.
