The Government has introduced the Employment Leave Bill, which would change the legal entitlements to annual and sick leave, especially for people working part time, irregular hours or paid irregular rates.
Read the PSA's submission on the bill
This bill will not override collective agreements
If this bill become law, it will set the legal minimum provisions for leave. We can still negotiate better terms for leave in collective agreements, and the law won’t override existing collectives.
What the bill would change
The table below summarises key changes proposed by the Employment Leave Bill.
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| Current law |
Proposed law |
What this change means |
| Everyone is guaranteed at least four weeks annual leave and ten days sick
leave a year. |
You earn annual and sick leave for “standard” hours you’re
required to work under your employment agreement.
You will not earn leave for additional hours worked, instead you get a 12.5% “leave compensation
payment”. |
People who regularly work over their “standard hours” will get less leave.
E.g. Someone who works 30 standard hours and 10 overtime hours a week will get 25% less sick leave
than someone who works 40 standard hours a week. |
| Leave pay is calculated so you’re paid at least as much on leave as you are when you’re working. |
You will be paid a base rate plus any fixed allowances that you get every
pay. |
Pay cuts for anyone who gets overtime, allowances you don’t get
every pay, extra pay for working anti-social hours, commissions, or bonuses. |
| ACC compensation does not affect your annual or sick leave. |
You would not earn annual or sick leave while you’re on ACC compensation. |
Anyone who’s badly injured ends up with less leave. |
| You get a day in lieu if you work at all on a public holiday. |
You would get an hour in lieu for every hour you work on a public holiday. |
If you work a shorter shift on a public holiday than you normally do, you will
no longer get a full day off to compensate. |
