So what does the Bill provide for? Basically, Employees who have been in your employment for six months or more and have children under the age of five, disabled children and/or dependant relatives will be granted a statutory right to request amendments to their hour and working arrangements. This request must state whether the changes are to be temporary or permanent and must be made in writing.
An employer then has a corresponding duty to consider the request and respond within three months. Employers who wish to refuse the request must sufficiently explain the refusal to the employee and the refusal must be based on the grounds permitted by the Bill. These grounds include the request would have a detrimental impact on performance, quality or ability to meet customer demand, additional staff cannot be found, the burden of additional costs to the employer, or it would undermine the terms of a collective agreement.
If the employee is not satisfied with the explanation, then they can request mediation. If after mediation the employee is still not satisfied they can make a claim to the Employment Relations Authority where it will be treated like any other personal grievance claim.
I know that many employers will now be having heart palpitations the good news is similar legislation has been enacted in the UK with surprisingly successful results. 80% of employee’s requests have been granted and 90% of employers stated that they had no significant problems complying with the new statutory requirements. Whether or not New Zealand produces similar results remains to be seen
Like it or not, the legislation appears set to come into Law so make sure that if you are an employer and you receive a request you handle it properly – I will keep you updated on the Bill’s progress and any amendments made to it.
This article originally appeared in the Southland Times Work To Rule column. Mary-Jane Thomas is head of Preston Russell's employment law team. Contact her by clicking here
