Better Business
This month:
Employment Law Changes 1st April 2011
Company Tax Rates Dropping
Building Depreciation Gone
GST Simplification
Did you know?
Employment law changes 1 April 2011
Changes to both the Holidays Act and the Employment Relations Act will come into force on 1 April 2011. These changes are intended to reduce compliance costs, increase business confidence in recruiting new staff as well as speed up the resolution of workplace disputes.
The main changes include:
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Employees with the consent of their employer will be able to cash in one week of their four weeks' leave.
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Employees who have irregular working hours and pay will now have their holiday, sick and bereavement leave calculated on an average daily pay basis.
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Employers and employees will be able to agree to transfer taking a public holiday to another working day.
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The minimum wage will increase from $12.75 to $13.00 from 1 April 2011, while the training and new entrants' minimum wage will rise from $10.20 to $10.40.
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The 90-day trial period is being extended to all employers (currently limited to those with less than 20 employees). From 1 April 2011 employers and employees can enter into an employment agreement which provides for a trial period of 90 days or less. During the trial period the employer can dismiss the employee without risking a personal grievance.
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Employers will have to keep detailed personal files for each employee. These files must contain signed copies of employment agreements, other terms and conditions, handbooks, as well as any intended agreements (even where these have not been agreed to by the employee). These documents must be available to employees on request. Employers have until 1 July 2011 to get their files up to the new standard.
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Union representatives will need an employer's permission to enter the workplace.
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Employers will be able to communicate with employees during collective bargaining.
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Minimum requirements establishing a fair and reasonable dismissal process will be set out in the Act and employers will have a much clearer process to follow. This is great news for our employer clients, who can be fearful of dismissal processes being scrutinised for minor defects.
Company tax rates dropping
The company tax rate will reduce from 30% to 28% from the 2001/2012 income year (for most companies, 1 April 2011).
Building depreciation gone
Depreciation deductions on building with an estimated useful life of 50 years or more disappear from the start of the 2011/2012 year (for most of you 1 April 2011). New rules have been introduced to ensure the fir-out of commercial and industrial buildings continues to be depreciable.
At last - some GST simplification
Sales of land now zero rated
In the past, whether GST should be added or not to the sale of land, has sometimes been a complex matter. From 1 April 2011 these transactions will be zero rated, as long as the following apply:
- The purchaser declares in writing that the property is to be used for a GST activity, and
- The purchaser is GST registered
Did you know?
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Disclaimer Information contained within this document is of a general nature and does not constitute advice. Readers are cautioned not to act or reply on it without first seeking professional advice. The material and contents provided in this publication are informative in nature only. It is not intended to be advice and you should not act specifically on the basis of this information alone. If expert assistance is required, professional advice should be obtained.
