among other changes<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Minister](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/minister-of-internal-affairs-brooke-van-velden-I2XEBUTRHVDWZHXMTZTKRRALJE.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n
“Gone are the days of multiple, confusing calculations for leave payments,” van Velden said. “All workers, businesses, and their families will benefit from leave payments being simpler and more predictable.”<\/p>\n
Business groups welcome ‘long-overdue fix’<\/p>\n
The Employers and Manufacturers’ Association (EMA) called the announcement a “long-overdue fix” to a system that had caused confusion and cost.<\/p>\n
EMA’s Alan McDonald said the new law would bring “much-needed clarity and simplicity” to leave entitlements.<\/p>\n
“Employers and employees should be able to more easily understand and apply the rules and that’s a win for everyone,” he said, adding that small- and medium-sized businesses would particularly benefit.<\/p>\n
Retail NZ also welcomed the move to hours-based accrual and proportional sick leave for part-time workers, saying it would “significantly reduce complexity and compliance costs”. <\/p>\n
Business Central agreed, adding that the “shift to an hours-based approach for calculating leave is particularly welcome, as it addresses one of the most persistent pain points for businesses”, acting chief executive Amanda Wood said.<\/p>\n
However, Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young warned that some proposals, such as the higher casual leave compensation and full-rate annual leave after parental leave, could drive up costs for businesses.<\/p>\n
Unions warn of ‘winners and losers’<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/sick-tired-man-person-exhaustion-illness-generic-MBR6PDTAMJEHBFXYPSBGJ5CLOM.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A man at home with an illness (file image). (Source: istock.com)<\/p>\n
The Council of Trade Unions (CTU) said the changes would create “winners and losers”. While it welcomed day-one access to sick, bereavement, and family violence leave, as well as fairer pay statements, it raised concerns about reduced sick leave for part-timers and the removal of commission and bonuses from holiday pay.<\/p>\n
CTU president Richard Wagstaff said: “It is good that the Act will be simplified, but that didn’t need to come at the expense of the hard-won entitlements of working people.”<\/p>\n
He warned the impacts would disproportionately affect M\u0101ori, Pasifika, women, and other vulnerable workers in part-time or insecure jobs.<\/p>\n
Workers First Union was concerned about the changes to sick leave, saying it would disproportionately affect working women and those with long-term health issues.<\/p>\n
“There is no defensible reason for a person working part-time to have access to less sick leave than someone working full-time,” said Dennis Maga. “No matter what hours you work, everyone is prone to getting sick, and especially those with kids who are more likely to be in part-time work.”<\/p>\n
Opposition slams changes to sick leave<\/p>\n
![\"Labour](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/nz-teachers-hold-nationwide-strike-G4FLDLGI3RFRPD3YXUSHTGDQSE.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Labour MP Jan Tinetti (file image). (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n
Labour accused the Government of breaking an election promise and “turning its back” on part-time workers. <\/p>\n
Workplace relations spokesperson Jan Tinetti said: “People don’t fall ill on a pro-rated schedule depending on how many hours they work. No one should be forced to work while sick or lose income because they are unwell.”<\/p>\n
The Green Party echoed those concerns, saying women would bear the brunt of the changes.<\/p>\n
“Getting sick doesn’t depend on whether you’re full- or part-time,” said Green MP Teanau Tuiono. “This move means yet more unpaid work for women already juggling jobs and caring responsibilities.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Government yesterday announced a sweeping overhaul of employment leave legislation, including changes to how annual and sick…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[138,1122,232,111,139,69,135],"class_list":["post-39333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jobs","tag-business","tag-employment","tag-jobs","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}