Minimum wage to rise 50c
The minimum wage is to rise from $13.75 to $14.25 an hour from April 1. The starting-out and training minimum wages will also increase, from $11 an hour to $11.40 an hour.
Labour Minister, Simon Bridges, said the increase “balances the needs of both businesses and workers and will have minimal impact on the wider labour market and inflationary pressures.”
Restaurants under fire for “girls-only” job ads
An Auckland bar and Indian restaurant have come under fire for advertising jobs for women only.
The
New Zealand Herald reported that Ponsonby bar Chapel Bar &Bistro had posted an online ad saying: "We need female bar & floor staff at Chapel ... drop us an email if you or a friend needs a job”. While Indian restaurant Masala in Stanmore Bay had an advertisement in their window saying: “We are looking for part time front staff (girls only)”.
Both denied they were being discriminatory, however the Human Rights Commission told the
Herald both Masala and Chapel could be in breach of the Human Rights Act.
Teacher awarded $2500 compensation
The
Employment Relations Authority has ruled a teacher was unjustifiably sacked by an English-language school after students wrongly accused her of giving them exam answers.
Regent International Education Group teacher Robyn Voss’s students were made to re-sit an exam after failing the previous one. She became suspicious of the results and the schools director, Leo Lee, investigated. A student told the director Voss had read the answers out in class but later confessed students had photographed the answers prior to the exam when Voss was not in the classroom.
The following day Lee held a disciplinary meeting with Voss over the matter and she was fired the next day for serious misconduct.
The ERA ruled the sacking was unjustifiable the school never gave Voss enough opportunity to respond to criticism. It ordered the school to pay Voss $2500 in compensation.
NZ talent targeted by overseas firms
Overseas organisations are targeting New Zealand to establish their contact centres, fuelling high demand for local customer service professionals, according to recruitment company
Hays.
Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand, said they are seeing an increase in the number of overseas contact centres setting up in New Zealand.
“As a result, large bulk recruitment drives are either underway or are being planned for customer service candidates with a solid work history and industry-specific experience. But despite high demand, there is a shortage of suitable candidates,” he said.
Walker warns the bulk recruitment drives will further deplete the pool of skilled and experienced labour in New Zealand and will in turn force employers to look outside their preferred skill set and recruit candidates who can be trained into the role.
