Brooke van Velden. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden has put the tangled Holidays Act in her sights, vowing to find "enduring solutions" where previous governments had failed.
In recent years, hundreds of thousands of people have received too little holiday pay due to miscalculations under the complex legislation.
In 2018, Labour set up a taskforce to tackle the payroll mess but failed to introduce legislation before being turfed out of power last year.
The previous National government also considered changing the law, but could not find a way to simplify it without also reducing workers' entitlements.
In a speech to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday afternoon, van Velden identified the muddle as one of her top priorities.
"I understand that change has been a long time coming, and there will be many in this room who are sick of undelivered promises," she said. "There will be people in this room who might rightly wonder what I intend to do differently to ensure this gets over the line."
Van Velden said she would begin by ensuring any of Labour's proposed changes were workable and a material improvement on the status quo.
"One of the reasons it has taken so long to deliver change is that the previous government's proposed changes were so complex, it has taken years to move from policy decisions to getting draft legislation.
"If the policy is difficult to draft, chances are businesses would have a tough time implementing it too."
Stakeholders would be asked for feedback on the proposals under consideration in the coming months, she said.
The problems chiefly stem from the different ways an employer can calculate holiday pay.
Workers are entitled to whichever calculation is higher - their ordinary weekly pay or an average over 12 months.
That can be difficult to work out if an employee worked variable hours or received a commission or one-off bonus payment.
"One issue that is clear is that the act has struggled to keep up with working arrangements that differ from a standard five-day, 40-hour week," van Velden said.
"It is important that any improvements to the Holidays Act provide enduring solutions that will be responsive to constantly evolving work arrangements and business needs."
In her wide-ranging speech, van Velden also reiterated the coalition's commitment to overhauling health and safety regulations, as well as the rules surrounding contractors.
Officials had also been asked for advice on simplifying personal grievances, she said, specifically whether to set a high-income threshold and to remove the eligibility for remedies if the employee is at fault.
"I want to ensure that personal grievance settings provide fair rules that work for everybody, that are clear, understandable, and simple, so that employers can get on with their role in growing the economy."
Van Velden used her speech to criticise the former government for "adding to business uncertainty and the costs of doing business", citing the increases to minimum wage, doubling of sick leave and the new Matariki public holiday.
