The Employment Relations Amendment Bill passed its third reading on 5 December, meaning changes to employment law are coming. Some amendments will come into force as soon as the Governor-General gives Royal Assent. Some will be operative from 6 May 2019.

In recent months the Employment Court has decided several cases on what it means to be ‘working’. The court’s decisions may surprise many employers’ and challenge understandings of when employees are working and must be paid.

Unprecedentedly high compensation awards have been made in the employment jurisdiction in recent months. Not only are greater amounts are being awarded, an entirely new approach of awarding compensation on the basis of low, mid-range, and high level loss or damage to the employee is being applied.

It is important for employees to have the opportunity for rest and recreation and it’s important to employers that they don’t have to pay for that rest twice! Employers have the responsibility to ensure that they are providing the correct annual leave entitlements to their employees.