The government announced last year they will be making changes to leave entitlements.

What can we expect?
The indications are that:

  • Sick leave will increase to minimum of 10 days’ sick leave in late 2021; and
  • A public holiday for Matariki will be introduced in June 2022

With these changes on the horizon, it would be smart to take the time now to have a look at the big picture for your workplace.

Take a look at current working arrangements
You can help maximise productivity with some smart thinking to help your business going forward – start by reviewing working arrangements for your current part-time staff:

  • How will their productivity be affected with another 5 – 6 days of leave per year?
  • Are the days they work the best days for you and your business?
  • How will it affect the workloads of other staff members?
  • How will it affect other staff if they feel like one of the team is never there?

A picture (in this case, a graph) is worth a thousand words.
The graph covers 7 typical employee scenarios and shows the % of potential time away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see that employees who are employed only on a Monday, and who use all their leave, are going to be away 40% of the time – 21 weeks! Compare that with staff who work 4 – 5 days a week where the away time reduces to 8 to 9 weeks.

If this all sounds a bit scary then it’s time to do some planning. If you’re looking to change working patterns for your team, you need to work through a consultative, collaborative and fair process. I highly recommend that you seek advice before you embark on the change journey as it will help you to work through the process more easily and assist with reducing risk.

Please note: This information is offered as a guide only and for any situation you may be facing we recommend that you obtain independent professional advice. Of course People in Mind can provide that advice – just call us or email us and we will be in touch.