A productive and engaged workforce is the lifeblood of any business.  How do employers motivate and retain their talent in an ever mobile job market?

Here, we focus on 3 legal must do’s.

1.                   Act in Good Faith

The idea of good faith underpins every employment relationship.  It’s hard to define exactly but includes things like:

  • being responsive and communicative, honest and fair;
  • working constructively and positively together;
  • raising any concerns early;
  • keeping an open mind on issues; and
  • giving employees information about anything that may affect their employment and genuinely considering their feedback before making any decisions (especially if there is a chance they may lose their job).

Employees have to act in good faith too.  It’s a two way street.  Misleading and deceiving each other would not be acting in good faith.

2.                   Have a Written Employment Agreement

Great employment relationships start with a well drafted employment agreement (that complies with current law).  That way employees know exactly what is expected of them.  Every employee is entitled to a written employment agreement which deals with, at the very minimum, things like:

  • the parties’ names;
  • a description of the work;
  • the place of work;
  • the hours of work;
  • the salary or wages; and
  • an explanation of how to resolve employment relationship problems.

Even those basic requirements can be harder to get right than they might seem.  For example, working hours can be tricky due to legislative changes restricting an employer’s ability to require staff to be “available”.  Not all jobs involve fixed hours and those scenarios need to be carefully considered.

A good employment agreement will go much further than the minimum however and cover all aspects of the employment.

It’s even better to also have written workplace policies to complement the employment agreements.  Policies cover issues that are important to a particular business, such as drug and alcohol misuse, health and safety and Covid 19.  Policies should only be implemented after consultation with employees (in good faith of course).

3.            Meet all Minimum Entitlements

Employees have many minimum entitlements under legislation.  They include things like:

  • the right to receive the minimum wage;
  • leave entitlements (e.g. annual leave and public holidays, sick leave, bereavement leave, parental leave and the more recently introduced right to leave for employees affected by family violence);
  • the right to flexible working arrangements (in some circumstances); and
  • rest and meal breaks.  

Employers’ legal obligations are constantly developing and it is important to keep up to date with changes.  For example, the sick leave entitlement increased to 10 days last year and there is a new public holiday for Matariki.  Some older employment agreements, policies and practices might not now be up to standard. 

The Corcoran French employment team is here to help with any questions or concerns about employment.