Employment Relations Act Preparation
It is now only 2 months until the introduction of the E.R Act in August. If you have not yet considered the ramifications and impact of the Act on your business, it is now timely to do so. This is particularly important if you do not have well defined objectives and staff are not fully aware of your business's strategic aims.
You need to have a full and clear understanding of your own business's performance and consequently will need to develop and communicate your strategies, aims and objectives to your employees. Additionally you need to have in place a clear strategy for employment relationships and contracts.
So what do you do?
- Obviously the first step in the process is to have a reasonable understanding of Employment Law. In particular you need an understanding of the proposed ER Act in order to gain full appreciation of the changes the Act will bring to the NZ Industrial Relations scene, particularly during future bargaining processes. (Review the Employment Law and HR section of the site for a summary of the ER Bill) -You will need to consider, review and update your strategic business plan and link the organisation's goals with performance objectives. Once these are finalised you can then communicate the strategy to your employees.
- You next need to consider your HR issues, systems and processes. A review should be completed of all your contracts e.g.: How many are individual or collective? What are their expiry dates? How many employees are covered? Are there any significant issues?
- You should review your recent Industrial Relations activity and look for any outstanding issues. Also, do you know how many employees belong to the union, and how many are likely to join and be covered by a collective agreement?
- It is also important to review and understand the ramifications of any Fixed Term contracts currently in place and any independent contractors you may employ. You may need to consider whether the original reasons for employing staff on short term/fixed term contracts still apply and whether such contracts are likely to be reviewed/renewed. If they are, should they remain on such contracts or be fully employed as salaried staff. Under the Bill it is the level of control, direction and integration into the business which determines whether contractors will be deemed to be employees and thus gain employment protection under the law.
- If you already have some form of dialogue with a union then it may be worthwhile discussing the E.R Bill with them so that both parties can appreciate each sides understanding, interpretation and aspirations towards future negotiations. It may also be worthwhile agreeing on procedures with the union for their access to the workplace and future union/employer meetings.
The impact of these changes will vary from employer to employer depending on the particular Industrial Relations background, experience and culture of each organisation. The Bill is to be enacted in August and all employers will need to plan for it and not just wait for it to occur.
