Minister’s inaction forces companies to break law

11 July 2012

Minister’s inaction forces companies to break law

A recent Employment Court decision has now further highlighted legislation that is forcing companies to break the law and risk fines of up to $20,000 says one of New Zealand’s leading commercial cleaning companies.

“As a direct result of the poorly drafted, ill-targeted and unworkable nature of Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act, New Zealand businesses now risk being in breach of the law and face thousands of dollars in penalties from Employment Court decisions,” says Grant McLauchlan, Managing Director of Crest Commercial Cleaning.

“We have endeavoured to ask the Government and the Minister of Labour Kate Wilkinson to help New Zealand businesses facing uncertainty as a result of this legislation, but 6 months later the Minister is still “studying the report of the Review of Part 6A.”

“Part 6A is not working for either employees or employers. The legislation fails in one of its main objectives, to provide meaningful protection to the most vulnerable employees,” said Mr McLauchlan.

Companies that do not employ employees that want to transfer their employment to another company face prosecution and fines under Part 6A. But accepting the transfer of these employees, without being in receipt of the employees’ employment agreement or their existing terms and conditions of employment, results in a breach Section 64(1) of the Employment Relation Act.

“As a direct result businesses are now in a position of “check-mate” and the only way to resolve this is for the Minister to finish studying the report and actually make a decision, said Mr McLauchlan.”

“Frustration within the $1 billion dollar commercial cleaning industry that employs over 30,000 people is rapidly growing as businesses now realise Part 6A not only forces them to employ workers who elect to transfer from a previous employer to a new employer on the same terms and conditions, but if documentation is not provided they face being fined.

“If the Government and Minister Wilkinson don’t address this problem then they are undermining the ability of businesses and employees to lift productivity and instead ramshackle them to higher costs and uncertainty,” said Mr McLauchlan.

www.crestclean.co.nz

ENDS

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