The Holidays Act has been a source of frustration and confusion for many employers in New Zealand. With its complex provisions and subjective interpretations, ensuring compliance can be a daunting task.

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In this article, we sit down with seasoned Holidays Act remediation consultant Andrea Rota to gain some valuable insights into the challenges and realities of navigating this intricate legislation.

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Andrea’s journey in the payroll / Holidays Act remediation started back in 2013 and since then has been a person who many organisations and payroll practitioners have gone to for expertise and help in and around Holidays Act Remediation & Rectification projects.

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Currently Andrea is supporting the Ministry of Education on a large Remediation Programme

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Before that, Andrea helped guide MBIE through their Remediation as their Head of Payroll Remediation before taking up the Compliance Lead role on their People and Pay Sap Implementation.

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How did you end up providing Payroll / Holidays Act services / consulting?

My first exposure to a Holidays Act remediation was when I was a private sector planning and control manager. I led the remediation project that resulted from an employee complaint (as well as doing my day job!).

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That was 11 years ago and it was the beginning of my Holidays Act remediation contracting / consulting journey in both the private and public sectors.  

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What are the top challenges you face when dealing with Holidays Act remediations?

First, there is a general lack of understanding by senior leaders of the provisions of the Holidays Act and the complexities involved in remediation projects. This often leads to a tension around timeframes and "why is it taking so long?"

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These projects are tough to deliver and require executive support and engagement as some hard decisions are always required.

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Second is the challenge of resourcing remediation teams. Hols Act remediation projects require specialist remediation experience - there is often a misconception that BAU payroll resources can be used.

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My experience has been that specialist resources will speed up timeframes and very often BAU resources won't last the length of the project.

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Third, the general quality of historical data on which the calculations need to be performed. Project timeframes often slip due to the amount of work required to cleanse and conform the data before the calculations can be done. This component is often under-estimated in planning timeframes.

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If there was one thing you could change about Payroll Products or the Holidays Act what would it be?

Simplification of the Holidays Act. New Zealand's legislation is one of the most complex in the world (alongside Belgium). The drag on the economy for all employers attempting to comply is huge and adds nothing to the productivity of the country.

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The aim should be to make it as easy as possible to employ people and pay them correctly. Unfortunately the legislation is not fit for purpose and the way in which employees/employers work in the modern environment - eg. flexible working, shift work, casual contracts, working from home, compressed work weeks etc.

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There are no payroll products (either NZ or overseas sourced) that can comply fully with the legislation. Employers cannot rely on the payroll system alone - manual intervention is needed due to the provisions that require subjective decisions.

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The Labour Inspectorate often reinforces that it can't be a set and forget - eg. to assess if an employee "could" have worked overtime based on their past patterns, in order to include it into the Relevant Daily Pay (RDP) rate when FBAPS leave is taken.

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What does a Saturday look like for you (hopefully not working)?

Generally winding down and decompressing from the challenges of delivering Hols Act remediations during the week! Most importantly, spending time with family.

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Do you need help with a Holidays Act Remediation project or programme?

We have a network of New Zealand's most experienced Holidays Act Experts like Andrea ready to help you with this complex legislation. Get in touch with us here to start a conversation about getting you the talent you need, fast.