Australia
Employment Terms and Conditions
The November 2007 Labor Party win
in Australian parliamentary elections is
expected to have a substantial impact on
the controversial Work Choices program.
Although no legislation will be
introduced until February 2008, the
incoming Labor Party government
has pledged to end Work Choices
and replace Australian Workplace
Agreements (AWAs) with individual
contracts for employees earning more
than AUD 100,000. Transitional
measures would permit
existing AWAs
to remain in force for up to five years.
AWAs that expire after the bill becomes
law could be renewed for a period
ending on December 31, 2009.
As of January 1, 2010, the Labor
government expects to have its new
system fully in place: no new AWAs
would be permitted and the number
of minimum standards in all contracts
would jump from five to 10.
The Labor government has also
proposed to replace the Australian
Industrial Relations Commission, the
Fair Pay Commission, the Office of the
Employment Advocate, and the Office
of Workplace Services with a single
institution called Fair Work Australia.
Japan
Employment Terms and Conditions
The Japanese Diet has enacted laws
setting labor rules and altering the way in
which the minimum wage is established.
Japan has enacted two laws
designed to address changing labor
market conditions. First, the revised
Minimum Wage Law requests local
governments to ensure that the local
minimum wage is set above the level
of public assistance. Employers that
do not comply will be subject to stiffer
penalties. Second, the Diet passed a law
on labor contracts, which seeks to bring
consistency to the law on work rules
after a number of recent court decisions.The law requires employers to obtain employees' consent before changing
work regulations. However, employers
may change working conditions if
extensive changes are first announced to
employees and the changes are deemed
reasonable.
Effective dates for the two laws have
not yet been established. |
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New Zealand
Employment Terms and Conditions
New Zealand's parliament amended the
Employment Relations Act to expand
employees' ability to request flexible
work hours.
New Zealand's parliament
has passed an amendment to the
Employment Relations Act related to
flexible work hours.
Contrary to previous drafts of the
long-debated legislation, the new law
will require employers to consider
requests for flexible hours, days, and
work locations from all workers who are
responsible for "the care of any person,"
not just children under age five and
disabled children.
Employers may turn down these requests for a variety of reasons, including the cost of accommodating the worker, the inability to adjust workloads, or detrimental effects on work quality. Employers are required to reject a request if it violates a collective agreement.
To be eligible to request flexible work arrangements, the employee must have at least six months' service with the same employer.
The new rules are effective July 1, 2008.
Taxation of Compensation and Benefits
In New Zealand, new tax legislation alters how redundancy payments are taxed and provides employers with a tax credit for contributions to KiwiSaver or another qualified plan.
Effective April 1, 2008: workers will be eligible to claim a six-cent rebate per NZD 1.00, up to NZD 60,000 per redundancy. Workers are eligible for the rebate for any redundancy payment received on or after December 1, 2006. These rebates offset the negative personal income tax consequences of redundancy payments employers receive a tax credit of up to NZD 20.00 per week to help offset their contribution costs. Mandatory employee and employer contributions to KiwiSaver are being phased in over four years employees must make a minimum two percent contribution; the contribution rate will increase to four percent by April 1, 2011. Employers will be required to match the minimum employee contribution.
New Zealand's parliament amended the Employment Relations
Act to expand employees' ability to request flexible work hours |
