Redundancies, reductions at NZ Post a reminder of challenges for employers
Internal changes are set to occur at New Zealand's post provider as NZ Post is reportedly considering offering employees voluntary redundancy or reduced hours in an effort to save money.
But this kind of approach by employers can be challenge for employers, according to Principal Employment Lawyer at BuckettLaw, Barabara Buckett.
“The process has to be fair, too. You can’t just offer it to anyone. A consultation has to take place and there has to be justification for offering it,” she said.
NZ Post announced cost-cutting proposals following a review in September 2024 with the aim of achieving a $35- to $40-million reduction in costs over this financial year; proposals were made to initially offer voluntary redundancies and a four-day work week with a pay cut.
At the time, NZ Post chief executive David Walsh said that “if implemented, these changes will impact around 100 jobs,” according to reports.
Monica Ayers, Chief People Officer at NZ Post, said: “Like many other businesses, we are focused on being commercially sustainable. As part of this ongoing review, we have re-opened Expressions of Interest for voluntary redundancy or changes in working hours for our manager and specialist functions. This process is currently underway.”
In New Zealand, there are flexible working arrangements by law, and these can only be denied on a reasonable basis, Buckett said.
“If you say, ‘The only alternative is reduction in your hours,’ and I don't offer you some form of flexibility, I think you know you're going to get to some problems,” she said.
“It’s a bit of a cocktail, really – reducing peoples’ hours or letting them go it just like putting a BandAid over the wound. Yes, it’ll help relieve some pressure but I’m not sure if it will help everything.
“If it was the only problem, why were staff not told months before?”
Also, if an employer is suggesting there is a need because of a cost benefit, “then you'd have to provide information to staff because the good faith requirements would mean the employer would have to provide the figures,” Buckett said.
Offering to reduce the number of staff can have impacts on employee morale if not handled properly.
“It’s all about preparedness from the employer,” Buckett said. “If I'm taking a redundancy, or particularly, reduced hours, and three months down the track, I find that there was a capacity to avoid that, I'm not going to be very, very happy, am I?”
Decisions like this can split and divide the workforce, she said.
“When you’re deciding what person or which jobs are on the chopping block, other people will be thinking about the amount of work they’ll have to pick up.”
In cases where uncertainty looms around an employee’s position in a company, heads are likely to turn and questions are bound to be asked – but HR leaders are able to reduce friction with ‘open-door policies’, according to one expert.
