Employers need to know their holiday legal employment rights and obligations – it’s especially important as we enter the Christmas and New Year season.
With a little planning and preparation, you can avoid serious problems later.

Employment New Zealand has simple answers to common questions that businesses have.

Can I close down my business over the holiday period and require staff to take annual leave?
You can have an “annual close down” for your whole business or part of it, but you must comply with the legal rules that include:

• Employees must be given at least 14 days’ notice in writing.
• Employees can be required to use their existing annual leave (annual holidays) to cover the close down period.

If they don’t have sufficient leave, they can take leave without pay or you both can agree to them taking annual leave in advance.

I need my employee to work during the Christmas and New Year holidays. What do I need to do?
You can only make your employees work on a public holiday if 2 conditions are met:

• the public holiday falls on a day the employee would otherwise have worked, and
• the requirement to work on the public holiday is noted in their employment agreement

Unless these conditions are met, your employee does not have to agree to work during a public holiday.

How much do I need to pay them, if they work on a public holiday?
When the public holiday falls on the day an employee would normally work, they are entitled to be paid time and a half for all the hours actually worked, plus a paid day off at another time. If the holiday does not fall on a day they normally work, they are entitled to just pay of time and a half.

Do I have to allow my employees to cash-up their annual holidays?
Employees can request to cash-up up to one week of their minimum 4 weeks’ annual holidays in any entitlement year, provided you agree. To decline their request you have to do this in writing, but you don’t have to give a reason.

My business is really busy, can I cancel my employee’s approved annual leave?
You cannot cancel your employee’s approved annual leave, unless they agree to it. They may have already paid for all or part of the holiday or organised the holiday with the rest of their family. If you would like your employee to cancel their leave, you should approach them in good faith and make sure that there are no consequences if the employee declines to cancel their leave.

More information
For more information, visit employment.govt.nz and search “Annual close downs”, “Public holidays” and “Cashing up annual holidays”.

The holiday season is here again and with it comes the opportunity to get some sunshine, time with friends and family and time to recharge and relax.
Even with these exciting times, there can also come with some added stress. We know, now more than ever how important our health is and the day to day stress we have in our lives can have a big impact on our health. In our practice, we always like to say every decision we make either moves us towards health or away from health.

So, we thought we’d share a couple tools to help you navigate this season and in to the new year.

1. Movement: Our bodies were designed to move and we are healthiest when we are in movement. What we know is a little bit of movement goes a long way. Getting outside for a 30-minute walk, hitting a tennis ball around or even playing in the park with your kids can have a positive effect on your immune system.
2. Breathing: Most of us don’t think much about how we’re breathing but it can have a big impact on the health of our body. Taking 5 deep breaths into our belly can switch our body from a stressed to state to a more relaxed state.
3. Get Adjusted! A well-functioning nervous system is vital for the overall health of your body. Chiropractors ensure that your spine is working at its best so that your nervous system and body can be firing on all cylinders. Whether you have aches and niggles or just want to get the most out your health, Chiropractic can help!

Navigating our health during the holidays doesn’t have to be tough if you follow these principles! We hope you have a great holiday.

Changes to the government’s small business cashflow (loan) scheme makes it easier for small businesses to access finance. The changes include:

• Applications open 3 more years, closing 31 December 2023
• No interest charged if loan repaid within 2 years (up from 1 year)
• Fewer restrictions on what the money can be spent on

Already have one of these loans? Your loan will automatically be covered by the new terms and conditions.

Small businesses, including sole traders and contractors, can apply for these low-interest loans through Inland Revenue.

IRD will be sending text messages to myIR customers with low levels of debt from the 10th of December. Their message will read as follows: “Hi IRD here. Need help to get on top of your tax bill? It’s easy to set up a repayment plan. Find out how at ird.govt.nz/instalments or call us on 0800 951-758”

This campaign will include clients with three or less outstanding returns. The amounts due will relate to any account type except student loans or child support, be over 60 days old and between $200 and $10,000. Customers who are inactive or have debt that is already under arrangement have been excluded from the campaign.

All employees working in New Zealand are legally covered by the Holidays Act (2003). The Act requires that:

• as an employer, you keep accurate records for all employees of the hours worked each day in a pay period and the pay for those hours, and leave accrued, entitled leave and leave taken

• all employees can take annual leave (depending how long they’ve worked for you)
• all employees are given sick leave and bereavement leave
• all employees get paid leave on public holidays, if they would normally work on that day

ANNUAL LEAVE
All employees are entitled to at least four weeks of paid annual holidays. This doesn’t include public holidays or sick leave.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
When a public holiday falls on a day your employee would usually work, they’re entitled to a paid day off, no matter how long they’ve been working for you. If they agree to work anyway, you must:

• pay them at least time and a half
• give them another paid day off later (a day in lieu)
  

With more customers choosing to bank digitally, there has been a decline in the use of cheques throughout New Zealand. As a result, banks have made the decision to discontinue the use of cheques as a method of payment after 25 June 2021.

This means that soon you will no longer be able to pay or be paid by cheque. We understand this could be disruptive to the way you currently do business. However, we have a number of alternative payments solutions for you and your business and we’ll be here to support you while you explore these options.

What’s changing?

• 16 November 2020 – Foreign cheques under $500 will no longer be accepted
• 27 November 2020 – Last day cheque boos will be automatically issued
• 26 March 2021 – Last day you’ll be able to manually order cheque books
• 25 June 2021 – Last day banks will accept cheques
  

💰A cashless society means no cash. Zero.
💴 It doesn’t mean mostly cashless and you can still use a ‘wee bit of cash here & there’.
💵 Cashless means fully digital, fully traceable, fully controlled.
🤔 I think those who support a cashless society aren’t fully aware of what they are asking for.
😳⚠️ A cashless society means:

• No more purchases off marketplace unless you want to risk bank transfer fraud
• No more garage sales
• No more cash donations to hungry homeless you pass
• No more cash slipped into the hands of a child from their grandparent
• No more money in birthday cards
• No more piggy banks or tooth fairy for your child
• No more selling bits & pieces from your home that you no longer want/need for a bit of cash in return
• Less choices of where you purchase based on affordability

What a cashless society does guarantee:

• Banks have full control of every single cent you own
• Every transaction you make is recorded
• All your movements & actions are traceable
• Access to your money can be blocked at the click of a button when/if banks need ‘clarification’ from you which could take weeks, a hundred questions answered & five hundred passwords
• If your transactions are deemed in any way questionable, by those who create the questions, your money will be frozen, ‘for your own good’
  

Johnston Associates has decided to provide more regular information via social media channels – namely Facebook and LinkedIn. We will continue to publish our quarterly newsletter, but you will find more regular and timely information through these channels.

So choose your preferred outlet by clicking on one of the buttons below, and don’t forget to follow us!