Covid-19, Vaccinations and Other Legislation Updates

Posted 12 October 2021 by Mike Johnson covid-19, government support, vaccinations, holidays act, Work Visas;

Covid-19, Vaccinations and Other Legislation Updates

Tuesday 12^th October 2021

In this Update:

Covid-19 Ongoing Financial Support

Because parts of the North Island are still in lock-down, Covid-19 financial support is still available to those who are still experiencing a 40% or more reduction in revenue (for the fourth round of wage subsidy support) or 30% (for the third round of resurgence support), due to the lockdown (as opposed to Covid itself).

If you think you may be eligible for this continued support, you can find more information at https://www.business.govt.nz/covid-19/financial-support-for-businesses/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=COVID_19_October_6_2021&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.business.govt.nz%2Fcovid-19%2Ffinancial-support-for-businesses%2F

Mandatory Vaccinations for the Health and Disability Sector and Education Sector

The Government have announced that people working in the Health and Disability Sector and the Education Sector will have to be fully vaccinated in order to continue working in these sectors.

Healthcare workers, both public and private, will be required to have their first vaccination by 30^th October and fully vaccinated by 1^st December.

Teachers and other support staff, including ECE teachers and home-based educators, have a slightly later deadline. These workers will have to have had their first vaccination by 15^th November and be fully vaccinated by 1^st January 2022.

If you would like assistance to add clauses into your Employment Agreement’s to outline this, or for other related questions, please get in touch. Full details are still to be released.

More information can be found at https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/mandatory-vaccination-two-workforces or you can get in touch with us for assistance and clarification.

Other Workers and Vaccinations

Except for in mandated situations, as above, Employers cannot require their staff to get vaccinated, nor can they require them to advise you whether or not they have been vaccinated, unless it is as a result of a thorough and proper risk assessment.

If, through a proper process, it is deemed that the risk of possible infection for staff and customers is high and the only way to minimise it is to be vaccinated, you may be able to require your staff to be vaccinated.

It is not as simple as just saying that the risk is too high, evidence of a robust process must be provided.

If you would like assistance in doing this assessment, please contact your health and safety advisor, as it could be a very delicate process.

If you have already completed this process we can assist with Employment Agreement clauses and processes.

The 2021 Residence Visa

The 2021 Residence Visa is a new pathway to gain residency, primarily aimed at eligible migrants who are currently in New Zealand and providing certainty to New Zealand businesses who are reliant on them.

If these staff members meet certain criteria, they may be eligible for Residency status under this new pathway.

Staff may eligible if they have been in New Zealand on an eligible work visa (or have been granted one) by 29^th September 2021 or will arrive in New Zealand on a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa as a critical health worker for more than 6 months before 31^st July 2022.

They will also need to have lived in New Zealand for three years or more, or be earning $27 per hour or more or work in a scarce occupation as of the 29^th September 2021.

The finer details are yet to be given, but for more information, please see the attached document provide by New Era Consulting Ltd.

Parent-Teacher Interview Leave Proposal

The Government have proposed an amendment to the Holidays Act, proposing the addition of Parent-Teacher Interview Leave.

This Bill proposes that employees would be eligible for up to four hours paid leave, per annum, to enable parents to attend parent-teacher interviews, if needed, during their normal working hours.

This is another extra cost to Employers and, while this bill is still in its first stages, it is still something you may want to start thinking about.

We will update you as we get more information and give assistance to the interpretation of the legislation.

Mike Leave – just a heads up – Mike is away on leave from 22-25 October and again 8-12 November. Please try and ensure he gets plenty of notice of work needed to be done prior to these dates.

Essential HR are here to help. For ongoing help call us on – 03 3650532, or you can contact Mike directly on 027 2808546 or mike@essentialhr.co.nz.

I’m happy for you to pass this on to others.

And if you need to conference call, we are all set up with Zoom.