The Govt has introduced a law change that will allow bosses to withhold workers’ regular breaks – instead paying them for the time, or letting employees trade the breaks for time off later.
National’s bill means regular breaks can be replaced with “compensatory measures”, which include being able to start work late, or leave early.
Workers will also be given the option to stockpile breaks they have missed, and trade them for a day off.
Forms of compensatory measures are not limited by the bill, so employers could pay staff rather than giving breaks.
The bill says there should be “good faith bargaining” between bosses and workers, it gives employers the final say over when and how long breaks will be if agreement cannot be reached, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Labour’s employment spokesman, Trevor Mallard, told the Herald the bill contained downsides for vulnerable workers whose breaks were not protected in collective contracts.
“The idea you could be pushed into taking no breaks at all, and pushed into having them outside work hours is not a good idea,” he says.
“It means the break is worth nothing if it can be replaced with ‘time off’ at the whim of their employer.”
Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson said the changes were aimed at restoring flexibility for employers, by allowing them to time breaks in a way that did not disrupt their businesses.
It is partly aimed at solving problems in workplaces such as sole-charge air traffic control watchtowers.
The Herald reported that while Government departments were consulted, other parties, including Business NZ and the Council of Trade Unions had not been.
The Employers and Manufacturers Association’s employment services manager, David Lowe, said the law change would allow businesses to revert to the more practical custom they had used before last year’s change.
“The current law assumes everyone has a cup of tea at 10am and 3pm, and 30 minutes for lunch at 12 noon,” he told the paper.
CTU president Helen Kelly said last year’s law was flexible enough to cater for different businesses, while giving protection to those most vulnerable.
The new bill replaces the minimum rest break lengths with the more general guideline requiring employers to give workers "a reasonable opportunity ... for rest, refreshment and attending to personal matters".
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Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly spoke to Sunrise this morning. Watch the video