In December the government passed changes to the Employment Relations Act which are intended to improve fairness and conditions in workplaces. The following changes came into effect on 12th December 2018: Union representatives can now enter workplaces without asking for permission, provided that the employees are covered under, or bargaining towards, a collective agreement. However,
The government has announced its new research and development tax incentive package, which is designed to encourage more businesses to increase their R&D expenditure. The key features of the R&D package include: A credit rate of 15% (up from the originally proposed rate of 12.5%) which will be available from the beginning of the 2019/20
On 1st October 2018 the new Customs and Excise Act 2018 came into effect. If your business deals with Customs at all, you need to be aware of the changes and how they may impact on your business. Businesses potentially affected by the new Act include importers, exporters, excise manufacturers, brokers, service providers such as
Being a self-employed contractor presents its own unique benefits and challenges. You can elect to work under your own name as a sole trader, or set yourself up as a company. Benefits Of Being A Contractor As a contractor you are essentially your own boss, and have control over how, when (and sometimes where) to
New Food Act regulations designed to tailor food safety rules to individual businesses are coming into effect. New food selling businesses must register for the Food Act when they commence trading. For existing food selling businesses, registration has been introduced in stages with a different group registering each year since the new laws came in.
Following the annual Government review, on 1st April 2017 the adult minimum wage rate rose by 50 cents to $15.75 an hour. The starting-out and training wage rates also rose by 40 cents to $12.60. If you are an employer paying staff minimum wage rates, ensure you have updated your payroll and employment agreements to
In response to the forecasted high demand for New Zealand Residence Visas, the Government will be bringing in changes to the New Zealand Residence Programme for the next two years. The planning range for the two year period from 1st July 2016 to 30 June 2018 will be 85,000 – 95,000 (down from 90,000 –
Simon Kelly from HiFX shares his top tips for protecting your business from the risk of foreign exchange volatility. FX volatility is one of the biggest risks faced by New Zealand businesses involved in cross border trade. Even in an average year the NZD moves as much as 15% up or down against the USD
Jennifer Wyatt Sargent of Wyatt Sargent & Associates Ltd explains the major changes for New Zealand employers brought into effect by the Employment Standards Legislation Bill. One bill – the Employment Standards Legislation Bill – gave rise to five amendment Acts, which all came into force on 1st April 2016. They are intended to address
Prospective parents, business owners/operators and managers should all be aware of new changes the Government is applying to paid parental leave. From 1st April 2016 staff are entitled to receive a total of 18 weeks of government-paid parental leave. This is an additional two weeks over the previous entitlement of 16 weeks. The paid parental
