Supplied Content
Wellington, December 31, 2021
Employment New Zealand of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has been organising Webinars to explain the changes that have occurred to the Employment Law in relation to the mandatory vaccination requirements.
Two webinars will be held on the Zoom platform next month as follows:
Tuesday 11th Jan 2022, 2pm-3pm
Friday 14th Jan 2022, 10am-11am
A notification from ENZ said, “The Webinar is about Employment Law changes relating to mandatory vaccination requirements for employees, under the Covid-19 Protection Framework (The Traffic Light System). Please click on one of the two links mentioned above on the datelines. Both webinars will have the same content and hence registration is required only for one event.” 
Employment New Zealand AdvertisementGeneral guidance for workplaces
The following is an extract from the Employment New Zealand website: Please click here.
Employers and employees need to work together to slow the spread of Covid-19, protect New Zealand and keep each other safe. This means that normal obligations to keep in regular contact and to act in good faith are more important than ever.
Regular Employment Law still applies to all employment relationships, regardless of the circumstances in which we may find ourselves. This includes anything that has been agreed to in an Employment Agreement.
Minimum wage must be paid
Under no circumstances can employers pay less than the minimum wage or reduce any of employees’ legal minimum employment entitlements.
Employers and employees should discuss in good faith any changes in work arrangements, leave and pay, or health and safety measures.
In the absence of an Agreement to alternative working arrangements, employees must return to work if there is no reason for the employee to stay away from work under public health guidance from the Ministry of Health website.
If a worker is sick with Covid-19, or required to self-isolate, the first consideration for an employer should be to look after people, contain Covid-19 and protect public health.
Businesses may be able to apply for the Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme to support their employees.
Health of workers
Employers should not knowingly allow workers to come to a workplace when they are sick with Covid-19 or required to self-isolate under public health guidelines. If they do, they are likely to be in breach of their duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Businesses should check if they are eligible for financial support on the Work & Income Website.
