Behind every great business are great people. But it’s hard to be your best at work when you’re feeling the worst.
On the 24th of July 2021 New Zealanders, sick leave entitlements increased from five to ten days in accordance with Parliament passing the Holidays (Increasing Sick Leave) Amendment Bill.
Keeping up with regulatory change can be a hard ask for busy businesses so we’ve created a handy Q&A to ensure you’re across what the changes mean for your business.
Boxing on when we’re unwell is a thing of the past. Now more than ever, high performing businesses understand that prioritising health and wellbeing is essential for productivity, staff retention and client care.
If you have any questions about how to boost your productivity, better manage your team or deal with persistent absenteeism (which is a separate and important issue to address) we’d be happy to help. Get in touch with RightWay HR Specialist - AJ Halliday today.
Q&A: New sick leave entitlements kick in 24 July 2021
Who’s entitled to 10 days sick leave?
Employees who have completed six months continual service for one employer are entitled to sick leave if they, or a dependent, are sick or injured.
What if we already provide 10 days sick leave?
Employees who already get 10 or more sick days a year will not be affected by this change.
So when does the entitlement rollover? Annually?
An employee’s sick leave anniversary is taken from their six months continuous service date, so is different to their start date and when annual leave entitlements rollover. For example: If Jane begins employment on May 20, 2021, her entitlement date to sick leave will be Nov 20, 2021. Jane’s anniversary for her ten days of sick leave entitlements will remain Nov 20 every year from that point onward.
How does it work if a member of my team hasn’t been employed for the full six months when the legislation kicks in on 24th July 2021?
Any current employee will gain entitlement to ten days sick leave on their normal six months continual service anniversary date AFTER 24 July, 2021.
We’ll use Jane’s example again to clarify: If Jane had started work on Jan 20, 2021, her entitlement date would fall on Jul 20, 2021, which is before the legislation takes effect. Therefore, Jane would only be entitled to five days sick leave until her annual entitlements roll over on July 20, 2022.
How much sick leave can my team carryover?
The total maximum entitlement available to carry over into another 12-month period reduces from fifteen to ten days.
What’s the maximum amount of sick leave that can be accumulated over a 12-month period?
20 days per 12-month period.
For more information visit: Minimum sick leave entitlement to increase to 10 days » Employment New Zealand.
