Employers are now legally entitled to deduct employee pay in response to partial strikes, following the passing of the Employment Relations (Pay Deductions for Partial Strikes) Amendment Bill.
Partial strikes are industrial actions that usually involve employees turning up to work but only performing some parts of their role or refusing extra duties, e.g. working overtime.
The change only affects employers who have employees on collective employment agreements (i.e. union members).
Prior to the law change, if an employee engaged in a partial strike, the employer was not able to deduct their pay unless they suspended the person or issued a lockout notice.
Announcing the changes, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, Brooke van Velden said they would "ensure a fairer bargaining process and minimise the disruption partial strikes have caused to public and customer services".
How do the changes work?
Employers do not have to deduct pay in response to partial strikes, but can choose to reduce an employee's pay. There are two options (either/or but not both) for calculating a deduction:
- Deducting 10% of the employee’s wages.
- Reducing an employee’s pay by a proportionate amount (calculated using a specified method based on identifying the work that the employee will not be doing due to the strike).
Employers have to provide written notification to employees that they will be reducing their pay before the deduction is made (the deduction amount isn't required).
Unions can request to see information on how an employer calculated or applied a deduction and if they disagree, they must advise the employer as soon as practicable so they can try to resolve it.
If the union isn't satisfied that the pay deduction was made correctly, it can apply to the Employment Relations Authority for a determination.
