Ebook: The Holidays Act decoded: the essential guide

Navigating the complexities of the Holidays Act (2003) can be a daunting task for employers in New Zealand. To shed light on this critical topic, we asked Chris Mar – a payroll legislation expert from our Datapay team – to develop an ebook that covers the background and basics of the Holidays Act, outlines some common compliance challenges, provides practical advice, and looks at the path ahead, including the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and proposed changes to the Act.

In this article we’re sharing extracts from the The Holidays Act decoded: the essential guide ebook, but we encourage you to download the full ebook to access more valuable insights into the Holidays Act.

First, it’s helpful to understand the background and the basics Holidays Act. The Holidays Act (2003) sets out minimum entitlements for employees, and crucially, employers cannot contract out of these.

It is important to understand that these entitlements are non-negotiable minimums. Employers can choose to offer more generous terms, but where they do, they must ensure that these exceed the minimum standards in all scenarios to stay compliant.

Over the years, the Act has undergone several amendments to address emerging issues and adapt to changing work environments – although many argue that it has not adapted enough to meet the different types of working arrangements that exist today.

There are three core requirements employers must meet in order to maintain compliance with the Act:

• Minimum entitlements: Employers must adhere to the minimum entitlements outlined in the Act.
• Statutory entitlement: Employers cannot contract out of these entitlements – in other words, they are non-negotiable.
• Proof of meeting standards: An employer may offer more than the minimum entitlement in some instances; but they still must show they meet this minimum requirement in all other instances.

A significant challenge employers face when it comes to payroll compliance is an overreliance on payroll systems.

Finding the right payroll system with the capacity to handle complex calculations is a critical factor in maintaining compliance, but your payroll system alone cannot ensure this.

Payroll systems must be correctly configured and continuously monitored. Without proper setup and regular updates, even the most capable systems can fail to meet compliance requirements.

Download the full ebook , 'The Holidays Act decoded: the essential guide' to learn more about common Holidays Act compliance challenges and how to manage them, six practical steps employers can take to protect themselves and their employees, and how to prepare for proposed changes to the Holidays Act.