3 in 3 at 3 is the quick summary of the three key things you need to know in three minutes or less, at 3 o’clock on a Friday.
This week:
- An introduction to 3 in 3 at 3.
- Fair Pay Agreements getting closer.
- Holiday payroll ahead.
An Introduction to 3 in 3 at 3
There’s always a lot of noise about a hundred different things every week, specially with the media looking to sensationalize things for a few extra clicks. So to make things simple for the small business owners of New Zealand, we’re cutting through the noise to deliver you the three key things you most need to be aware of today that will have an effect on your or your business in the days or weeks ahead.
We’ll jump online every Friday at 3pm with a quick video summary on our MBP Facebook page, followed by a post on our website with a little extra flesh on each of the topics covered. This week, we skipped the video summary due to a couple of last minute technical difficulties.
Fair Pay Agreements Getting Closer (and Louder)
The new legislation that lays the path for Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs) was officially law as of the 1st of December 2022. Practically, this doesn’t really mean a lot for most businesses, at least in the short term. So, what happens now?
Unions Will Now Start Getting Louder
Now that the law is in place, the first steps are for the unions who think they represent an industry that would benefit from an FPA will start running around collecting signatures and making noise about how they need to be one of the first cabs off the rank with negotiations. Unions need to get 1,000 signatures (or 10% of the estimated workforce, whichever is smaller) to be able to submit their application to initiate an FPA. There is also a public interest test applied and so the more the unions can create a sense of public interest or urgency in a specific FPA, the more likely it could be to get across the line at MBIE.
Its Not Just Up To The Unions
The good news is that the power to get the ball rolling is not just in the hands of the unions. All the unions can do is collect signatures, make some noise and then plead a case to the CEO of MBIE. It is then up to the CEO of MBIE assess, seek public feedback and to agree that an FPA should be negotiated and to start the process from there.
FPAs in process can be viewed on the MBIE FPA Dashboard. This dashboard provides an overview of all applications to initiate bargaining received by MBIE and their progress through the FPA process.
We’ll Have More Next Week
Since we work with a lot of hospitality businesses across the country, we’re doing a detailed review of everything that you need to know about FPAs and what potential impact they and the negotiation process will have on your businesses. We aim to have this online around the end of next week. Keep an eye out on our Insights page as well as in next weeks 3 in 3 at 3.
Holiday Season Payroll
The Christmas – New Year holiday season is rapidly approaching. To help, we’ve published a handy seasonal guide to make sense of some of the more confusing aspects of holiday payroll that our team always get support queries on.
Jump over and read through the guide. If you need some extra support, reach out to the MBP Support team.