Have you ever marvelled at those people who have come up with some remarkably simple solution and made a fortune repeating it over and over – the tear tab on your can of drink, the ballpoint pen, the little plastic clip at the top of the bread? Have you ever thought, “if only I were so clever as to invent just one of those things.”
Imagine if there was one simple solution you could implement now that will save you significant time and money in the next year. Well, do I have a deal for you!
In May, a change to the Employment Relations Act will change the legislative approach to meal and rest breaks. The change will see a return to a more regimented approach which requires all employers to give all employees specified breaks, with few exceptions.
A key part of the new legislation is that unless the parties otherwise agree, meal and rest breaks have to be taken so far as practicable and reasonable at certain times in the rest period – so for example, and employee who works an 8 hour shift must be give their meal break (30 minutes) halfway through the shift, and their rest breaks (10 minutes) halfway between the meal break and either the start or finish of the shift.
If that doesn’t work for your business, there is a very simple fix – agree a different schedule of breaks with your employee. Perhaps even easier, have your employee agree, in their employment agreement, that they will take breaks as rostered or directed. The important point is that you should have some agreement – because without one, you are required to observe breaks on the schedule in the Act.
A very simple solution which might not make you as rich as Mr Biro but could very well save you some hassle in the months to come!
#mealandrestbreaks #employmentlawchanges #breaks #employmentagreements
