Massive changes happening in New Zealand’s labour market could take us back to the ‘bad old days’ of the 70s and 80s, when major conflict between employees and employers was commonplace, Civil Contractors Chief Executive Alan Pollard fears In addition to blanket wage reforms and increased mandatory leave, the government has announced a plan to introduce an employee income insurance scheme, designed to support workers with 80 per cent of their income for up to seven months if they lose their job through no fault of their own, for instance a redundancy, health condition or disability. Continue →

If you rush to abandon vaccine passes and a staff member catches Omicron, then goes on to develop long Covid, losing their ability to work as a result, there is a case to be made that perhaps their employer didn’t do enough to protect them, a health and safety training provider warns Besafe Training General Manager Jason Braithwaite is urging business owners to conduct workplace risk assessments before scrapping vaccine passes. Continue →

As a business owner or manager, you need to be ready for the increase in minimum wage rates on Friday, 1 April 2022 If you have not yet talked to your accountant, payroll provider or your finance/HR teams, now is the time. Continue →

People who can self-reflect and regulate their moral behaviour are more likely to bounce back after a failure rather than deviate from their ‘moral compass’ and misbehave, according to new research It is well known that people do not always act in accordance with their own standards regards what is right and wrong. Continue →

Starting tomorrow, the isolation period for positive cases and household contacts drops to just 7 days, but does the risk outweigh the reward and how does this effect those previously infected? Continue →

Despite statutory obligations that work site health and safety representatives be elected by their colleagues, the majority appear to be appointed by their employers, Besafe General Manager Jason Braithwaite says As the voice of the workers, they have statutory power to direct a worker who is in their work group to cease work that is not safe. Continue →

Phase Three of the Government’s Omicron response has kicked in, changing the self-isolation and testing requirements for close contacts Close contacts are only required to isolate if they are in the same household as an infected case, and Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) are set to become the primary testing method. Continue →

Hiring managers are known for asking the wrong interview questions without understanding the kind of questions that will validate culture fit and good leadership skills Hiring managers are known for asking the wrong interview questions without understanding the kind of questions that will validate culture fit and good leadership skills. Continue →

After a year of strong wage growth, median hourly pay has risen from $25 to $27 per hour, but some areas of the country have seen a bigger boost than others, OneStaff’s annual What’s my Rate? Continue →

The Government has announced its five step plan for the borders to re-open, meaning employers can once again start planning for skilled workers to enter the country, Civil Contractors Chief Executive Alan Pollard says While this will be a phased re-opening of the border, the good news is it will enable us to start bringing in skilled and experienced people from off-shore once again. Continue →

Business can be put in a tight spot if staff need to self-isolate, but a worker who is a close contact of a Covid19 case can continue to work in certain cases, provided they are vaccinated and displaying no symptoms The close contact exemption scheme is aimed at keeping critical supply chains running. Continue →

Construction in most of New Zealand has been operating under the Orange setting of the Covid-19 protection framework – SiteSafe and CHASNZ have worked with the industry to develop protocols for operating under the Red setting Site Entry Keep a record of who is on site, and when, every day as you may be required to track back for contact tracing. Continue →

Involving young people in the workplace is a great way to provide them with experience – however, there may be new or different risks that PCBUs need to manage Health and safety for young workers is not about excluding young people from the industry; it’s about identifying risk, assessing how likely that risk is to occur and managing it effectively. Continue →

WorkSafe New Zealand has issued three infringement notices totalling $20,000 to a business after months of failing to comply with Covid-19 requirements, says Head of General Inspectorate Simon Humphries Christchurch restaurant The Lotus-Heart has failed to display signage signalling whether it requires My Vaccine Pass use or not in a prominent place, isn’t displaying a QR Code in a prominent place and doesn’t have systems or processes to check My Vaccine Pass status of patrons. Continue →

We may have moved away from major lockdowns, but that doesn’t mean we are home free when it comes to avoiding the pandemic’s impact on construction projects, Civil Contractors New Zealand reports There is still potential for Covid-19 cases to force mandatory site shutdowns. Continue →

A mechanic doing work in a truck parking area had the back of his vehicle crushed by a departing truck, which drove off unaware of the incident A dump truck having mechanical issues was to be serviced by a mechanic in a truck parking area during a lunch break. Continue →

The $12,000 fine is the first COVID-related financial penalty handed out by WorkSafe under the traffic light system, says WorkSafe’s Head of General Inspectorate Simon Humphries WorkSafe New Zealand has issued an infringement notice to a business for failing to comply with its responsibilities under the COVID-19 Protection Framework. Continue →

With end of year just around the corner here’s some tips from Prospa on how to make sure you’re ready to capitalise on that summertime rush Savvy business owners should start putting things in place to secure a healthy cash flow to see through the end of year period, such as chasing unpaid invoices and putting aside cash for typical EOY expenses, like holiday rate payments, suggests Rob Drower, Partner at New Zealand small business consultancy, Prime Strategies Group. Continue →

CHASNZ has released a set of new protocols for the construction industry once New Zealand enters the new Covid-19 Protection Framework on December 3 A construction industry advisory group revised the previous COVID-19 Alert Level system construction protocols in response to the Government’s recently announced COVID-19 Protection Framework – also known as the Traffic Light system. Continue →

Programmes aimed at supporting employees’ health and wellbeing can also benefit their social relationships and reduce bullying, according to a new study Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA), working in collaboration with insurance and investments company Vitality, found that the more employees engage with health and wellbeing programmes (HWPs) the better the quality of co-worker relationships, the less they experience bullying over time, and the better their longer-term wellbeing and job satisfaction. Continue →