As required, this report assesses the adequacy of redundancy laws and provisions and recommends options for addressing perceived gaps and issues with existing laws and policy provisions. The details of the Group’s Terms of Reference are set out in Appendix A (To obtain this appendix, please send email to info@dol.govt.nz).
This report reviews New Zealand’s legislative framework for redundancy and provides a broad based comparative analysis with international frameworks. It also includes an analysis of key issues affecting the provision and legal framework of redundancy.
The Group has considered the adequacy of the legal framework in supporting successful transitions for workers and longer term mitigation of adverse labour market impacts. The adequacy of these laws and provisions has been examined at the level of individual employees and employers, and in respect of issues impacting on the wider economy.
The report is structured in four parts:
• Part one describes New Zealand’s legal framework, an analysis of redundancy related research, describes and provides a summary of key themes from public and expert consultation
• Part two reviews how other systems (European Union (EU), North America, Scandinavia, Australia and international Conventions such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO)) regulate redundancy and provides a legal comparative analysis with New Zealand
• Part three examines the key issues resulting from the comparative analysis
• Part four provides recommendations based on the research and analysis conducted in this report.
The Group has considered the following areas of interest in its report:
• evidence from research on the extent of redundancy provisions in employment agreements, employer and employee experiences and extent of any problems with current arrangements
• whether any additional legal requirements should apply to all redundancy situations or should be more targeted
• the experience of other countries that have implemented similar requirements
• employees’ and unions’ experiences
• the costs of entitlements and compliance for employers
• relevant International Labour Organisation standards
• interface matters with the existing insolvency regime
• interface matters with Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act 2000, and
• portability of entitlements.
The Group also had regard for whether redundancy and restructuring situations disproportionately affect any particular groups, including any gender, ethnic and disability implications.
The Group’s Terms of Reference require that the report provides recommendations on the following matters:
• statutorily prescribed consultation requirements
• the amount of notice employers must provide employees in the event of a redundancy
• consultation requirements to avoid mass redundancies, and
• a statutory requirement for redundancy compensation or other entitlements.