#15 That really depends on where and what you do as to $15 being a minimum wage to live on. A lot of employers actually most in the area I live will try and get out of paying holiday pay even when a contract of employment ends. Most the work in the area is casual! They get away with it because of the limited employment and wagging tongues of a rural enviroment. Of the 4 employers I work for casually only one has included holiday pay into the hourly rate as they should do for such a contract all the employers are weather dependant so are casual work only. Most the employers wonder why they can not get good staff that last it is because of the travel distance and poor minimum wage they pay. All I hear is employers whining how hard done by they are now and employees complaining of unfair treatment! Only reason legislation has to be put in place is bacuse employers are exploiting more than they were 10 years ago and employees are suffering from those increased costs in lower wages. I only have to look at a couple employers in the area to realise that wages have not increased in line with basic costs for the area. The blame can also be put on local goverment for those increased costs! Its only a 10% increase to your rates, electricity etc yet 10% on $1000 is more than %10 on $500 the wage gap widens.

@ChrisH #1 08:44 am Dec 20 2009 "If Easter Sunday is not a Public Holiday, why do those nice people from the Labour Department fine business's for opening on that day?"

Because the Holidays Act deals with leave that employees have, and the Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal Act is the one which says shops can't be open on Easter Sunday. Both pieces of legislation are administered by the Department of Labour. Our current Holidays Act is based on 1981 and 1944 legislation - Easter Sunday didn't need to be a public holiday because everything was shut on Sundays then anyway.

#8 $15 an hour would probably be the minimum to live properly on a 40 hour work week.

yet another workers condition lost . If Nzers were paid a decent wage they wouldnt need to cash in there holidays to make ends meet . company profits have doubled in the last 5 years . What have wages done .? the economy needs complete restructure & reform to restore some balance . High cost living in a low wage economy does not equate cashing in your holidays to try and correct the balance is not the answer . Its pushing workers further down the ladder . The adjustment has got to come from the top end not the bottom . The huge exodous of workers leaving NZ wont stop until something is done about economy its lopsided .

Some people are so funny! Meeoooww! Of course I know that people work weekends too... It should be fair to everyone... Everyone should get the 11 holidays! Doh! And surely employers know that keeping staff happy and making them feel valued is a way to get better performances from their employees? Ergo - It's better for the economy!

Statutory holiday provision really is an anachronism. Who are any of the writers above to tell people how much holiday they must have? If you have children then holidays are probably important to you, if you are going on OE next year, then you probably want to work every hour you can and save up.

There is absolutely nothing to stop someone doing a casual job during their annual leave, its just likely to be at a lower wage than their usual job, not to mention cause a load of hassle finding and getting the job.

What some writers above dont seem to understand is that no one pays you to take time off (except perhaps the government which extorts its money on pain of imprisonment). Businesses only get income by providing goods and services to customers and only pay employees to do that. Holiday pay, sick pay, personal grievances etc etc are all just fictions. An employer will calculate its labour budget and then deduct the cost of all these things before settling wages and salaries.

My favourite provision is the one about casual workers receiving holiday pay when they leave the job. In other words they have been making a forced interest free loan to the employer all the time they have been employed. Who would negotiate to do that?

People who are athiests shouldn't have to take religious holidays. We keep saying we are a secular country, yet everything stops for Christmas and Easter. If people don't believe in it, why can't they work through? It would also take the edge off the avaricious retailers, with any luck.

It not good news for workers under the proposals as may seem let up from superfluous employers who make excuses for no reason and may led to got off lightly that is big concern.

big business must have been getting very annoyed that they were getting no returns for all the money they pumped into getting national elected finally they are getting what they paid for.damn unions looking after working new zealanders,how dare they.

#7 Jimmy 123 I totally agree with you! What the main issue people have is this in ability to understand that New Zealand needs to become for business friendly and that half the unions are terrorist groups. They are terrorist groups because they seem hell bent on destroying New Zealand's economy. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour is the worst idea that has ever been put forward in the past year, this wage increase would devalue the kiwi dollar and possibly make our currency like that of India's where 35 INR can buy 1 NZD. So when will national be putting a flat tax in?