Upcoming Changes

This newsletter we are highlighting upcoming changes – in the near future when you log onto HealthyPractice you will notice that the website has had a refresh and will be sporting the new MAS branding.

On 1 April 2025 the adult minimum wage will increase from $23.15 to $23.50. The training wage also increases from $18.52 to $18.80.

We are also highlighting some of the Coalition Government changes they are considering making to legislation in the employment space. These will probably be brought before the house in the second half of this year.  The changes aim to boost productivity, simplify hiring and firing and reduce compliance costs.  

Contractor status

Following the Court of Appeal finding that four Uber drivers were employees rather than contractors and with a final appeal to be held by the Supreme Court, the Government response has been to propose a new legislative ‘gateway’ test for worker status.

The proposed Gateway test is detailed here Employment Relations Act 2000 amendments | Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment.  Key points to note include:

• a written agreement with the worker specifying they are an independent contractor;
• the worker is not restricted from working for others (including competition); and
• the worker is:
• not required to be available to work certain times, days or for a minimum period; OR
• able to sub-contract the work, and
• the business does not terminate the agreement if the worker does not accept an additional task.

If these amendments are introduced this year as anticipated, we envisage many general medical and dental practices that engage contractors may not meet the gateway test criteria.  As such, the contractor may seek to challenge their status.

Personal Grievance reform

Proposed legislation will leave high income earners (>$180K) unable to raise a personal grievance claim for unjustified dismissal.  If enacted, the change will be applicable after 12 months to all employees who earn over $180,000.  It is expected that the $180,000 will apply to the employee’s base salary (not including incentives) and the threshold will be reviewed annually.

Employers will need to be aware that they may need to follow different employment processes for different employees. High income earners may negotiate different terms either before their employment commences, or within 12 months of the restrictions applying.

Similar legislation is currently in place in both Australia and United Kingdom.

Amendments to the Employment Relations Act 2000 to enact this change are expected this year.

Employee remedies

This proposed change is looking at removing the ability to claim a personal grievance where the employee is dismissed for serious misconduct and reducing rights to remedies (such as reinstatement and/or compensation for hurt and humiliation) where an employee’s behaviour contributes to a personal grievance.

In cases of serious misconduct, it is expected the process will have included a full investigation, but minor procedural errors may be forgiven if the employee was treated fairly.

It might be expected that there could be a change to the definition of serious misconduct.

The Minister has signalled these changes will be made to the Employment Relations Act, but a Bill is yet to be introduced to the House.

Exit negotiations

This is a Members Bill introduced by Laura Trask – ACT MP, that proposes to introduce increased protections for exit negotiations by way of ‘Protected discussions’ that will remove the risk of constructive dismissal during exit negotiations. Under this Bill, employers would be able to make an offer to an employee for the purposes of negotiating the termination of their employment. The offer of an exit settlement would not create grounds for a personal grievance claim

Currently employers can have ‘Without Prejudice’ discussions but these happen as part of a negotiation process during a dispute.

It remains to be seen whether the Bill will continue to progress through the House given it is a Member’s Bill (rather than a Government Bill).

Holidays Act

And finally, it is expected that there will be changes to the Holidays Act that have been long indicated, towards the end of the year.  The proposed changes simplify the application of the legislation and mostly affect the annual leave component of the Act with annual leave accruing in hours rather than weeks.

The challenge in bringing in the changes will be deciding how to fix past errors, and whether there will also be provisions that wipe the slate clean in respect of historic practice.

We will be keeping a close eye on these proposed changes as they make their way through the legislative process.  We’ll be updating content and templates as required and will advise you of these changes as they are made.