Tawa Facebook
 
Tawa Business

Increase in Sick Leave Entitlements for Employees

  • The entitlement increases to a minimum of ten days. There is nothing stopping you from giving more than ten days.
  • Employees are entitled to accrue up to 20 days sick leave including their current year’s entitlement. Again you may by agreement allow more days to be accrued.
  • The legislation takes affect from 24th July, however the increase is not immediate – see following.
  • Your employees will become entitled to 10 days sick leave per annum from their next sick leave anniversary. Employees who have been with you for less than six months at 24th July 2021 will be entitled to ten days sick leave on their six month anniversary. Employees who have been with you for more than six months will become entitled to ten days sick leave on their next sick leave anniversary (always six month after the date on which they started employment with you). You can by agreement increase the entitlement before the due date.

What do you need to do?

  • If your employment agreements refer to five days’ sick leave entitlement, or another number less than ten days, then from 24th July they will contain an agreement that is less than the minimum requirement. It would therefore be prudent to update those employment agreements. You can do that either by issuing new agreements or by using a letter of variation which you and your employee both sign and which is then appended to and becomes part of the employment agreement.
  • If your agreements refer to accruals of “15 days plus the current year’s entitlement” then you will need to change that to “10 days plus the current year’s entitlement.” If your agreement just refers to 20 days accrual then you won’t need to amend that part.
  • Keep in mind that casual employees can, in some circumstances, also be entitled to sick leave. You will need to check and amend their employment agreements as well.

Update to Bereavement Leave Provisions

As of March this year, three days’ bereavement leave is available where an employee’s pregnancy ends through miscarriage or still birth, other than as the result of an abortion. Three days’ bereavement leave is also available to the spouse or partner of the person who has had the miscarriage or still birth, and to the former spouse or partner if that person would have been the biological partner, and to people who would have been the primary carer of the child (for example in the case of adoption).

If your employment agreements list the relationships for which employees become entitled to bereavement leave, then it would be prudent for you to add this provision to future agreements. A clause could read as follows –

“The employee is entitled to three days paid bereavement leave on the death of their spouse or partner, parent, child, brother or sister, grandparent, grandchild, or their spouse’s or partner’s parent. The employee is also entitled to three days paid bereavement leave where the employee suffers a miscarriage or still birth, or where the employee’s spouse or partner suffers a miscarriage or still birth, or where the employee would have been the biological parent or primary caregiver of the child had the child been born as a result of the pregnancy.”

That makes for a long and complicated clause! However if you are going to describe the circumstances that create an entitlement for bereavement leave, then for transparency you should explain all of them.

It would also be prudent to communicate the change to existing employees, so that they know what their entitlements should this unfortunate situation arise.

 

Thank you for using the Devonport Business Association website, you are now logged out, please enjoy the rest of your day!

Explore Tawa

eating & drinking
Tawa things to do
Tawa community

Business Sector Videos

Getting To Tawa

travelling to Tawa is a breeze...
Find Out More