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New Employment Agreements


Published 12 Aug 2014

New Employment Agreements

The content of our employment agreements has been updated and they have also been changed to make it simpler and faster for you to complete an employment agreement.

These changes in EmployersToolbox.co.nz will take effect from Wednesday 13th August 2014.

Following changes in case law and best practices our legal team has extensively rewritten our Agreements including all Individual Employment Agreements, Independent Contractor Agreements and our Employee Handbook.

We pride ourselves in providing Employers and Business owners with the most comprehensive Agreements. The best protection in employment dispute situations begins with having the best Agreement in place with your staff. To this end our team of industry experienced and qualified specialists constantly look to improve our Agreements in line with legislation, what is happening in the courts and what offers our clients the best protection.

The following documents will be rolled out and available in our Employers Toolbox cloud solution as from Wednesday 13th August 2014. All software and relevant documents shortly thereafter on our public website:
  1. Full Time, Part Time, Fixed Term and Casual Full Length Individual Employment Agreements;
  2. Full Time, Part time and Fixed Term Short Form Individual Employment Agreements;
  3. Employee Handbook; and
  4. Independent Contractor Agreements for Services and Labour.
The major change is the introduction of a "Statement of Personal Terms" in Schedule 1 of the agreements. All variable information such as salary, notice periods, start date etc is now contained within 1 page. Previously this information had to be entered throughout the body of the agreement. There is also professional formatting for ease of reference as well as changes to the order of the documents for simplicity. In the Individual Employment Agreements, there are now discrete clauses on:
  1. Deductions;
  2. Reimbursement for Training Expenses;
  3. Employee Obligations;
  4. Assistance with Litigation;
  5. Unpaid Suspensions;
  6. Drugs and Alcohol; and
  7. Whistleblowing.
The Employee Handbook also has innovative and revised clauses on:
  1. Introduction and Purpose;
  2. Military Service;
  3. Breastfeeding;
  4. Discrimination;
  5. Sexual Harassment;
  6. Bullying;
  7. Personnel Files; and
  8. The Privacy Act 1993.
Lastly, the Independent Contractor Agreements contain further protection for intellectual property and to avoid the disclosure of confidential information.

All these documents go live tomorrow (Wednesday 13th Aug) on your Employers Toolbox account. Please feel free to take a look at the Agreements section of the Employers toolbox and the slightly modified interface to accommodate these new changes : www.EmployersToolbox.co.nz/index.aspx

Any questions regarding this or any other HR related matter please don't hesitate to call us on 0800 15 8000. Our team are here to help.