This one's for the employers

It's been a minute since I checked in here. It's been a busy tax season, made slightly more complicated by me breaking an arm in August which slowed me down a bit.

I've had a few employer clients asking about the changes to the Holidays Act. Webinars on this are starting to ramp up, so keep an eye out for those in your inbox if you subscribe to MBIE news. PayHero also ran one recently so expect more of these as we get more detail on the new calculations, and they are free.

The key thing to remember is that it doesn't come infor effect until August 2028. So right now, no need to panic and current employment contracts remain in place.

Over the next few months Government agencies will start releasing guides with worked examples. These are mostly aimed at payroll software providers so that they can work on upgrades. It doesn't hurt to understand how these formula work, and we will be attending information webinars as they are offered.

Also over the next few months they will start releasing information for employers. This will be what needs to be done and start addressing scenarios for those with complex working arrangements, shifts and rosters etc.

As this information comes out with more detail, employers are encouraged to look at their own employment agreements, collect agreements and workplace policies and identify what will need updating to comply with the new legislation.

If you have a lot of employees you will want to start updating employment agreements from August 2027 (a year out from the changes), but this is mostly for large employers. Most SMEs who don't have collective agreements can probably wait until early 2028.

HOWEVER, if you use an HR firm you will want to talk to them early and lock them in. They are going to be swamped over the next 18 months. We will start prompting employer clients mid 2027.

From August 2028 everyone will need to be operating under the new Employment Leave Act.