New Zealand Repealed Acts

This legislation has been repealed.

FAIR PAY AGREEMENTS ACT 2022 - SECT 4

4 Overview of Act

1 This Act is divided into 13 Parts, and has 4 schedules.

2 This Part contains preliminary provisions, including the purpose of the Act, definitions of terms used in the Act, and a prohibition against contracting out of the Act.

3 Part 2 contains general principles and obligations that apply throughout the Act. They include principles of freedom of association (set out in subpart 1 ) and a duty of good faith (set out in subpart 2 ).

4 Part 3 contains the preliminary requirements for bargaining for a fair pay agreement. It includes details about who is eligible to initiate bargaining and how to form and join bargaining sides.

5 Part 4 sets out the provisions relating to specified employer bargaining parties and default bargaining parties.

6 Part 5 contains provisions that provide for an entitlement to attend fair pay agreement meetings (set out in subpart 1 ) and for a representative of an employee bargaining party to access workplaces (set out in subpart 2 ).

7 Part 6 contains provisions relating to the process of bargaining. It includes obligations on bargaining parties to provide information, the implications of a bargaining party ceasing to meet the criteria for being a bargaining party, and the process to follow when the coverage of 2 agreements overlaps.

8 Part 7 sets out what terms must, or may, be contained in a fair pay agreement. It also includes provisions relating to minimum entitlement provisions, differentiation that is prohibited or permitted (including district variation), and provisions for the delayed commencement of a fair pay agreement.

9 Part 8 contains the process for finalising a proposed fair pay agreement (a
"proposed FPA" ), a proposed renewal of a fair pay agreement (a
"proposed renewal" ), or a proposed replacement of a fair pay agreement (a
"proposed replacement" ). The process includes requirements for a proposed agreement to be—

a) assessed and approved by the Employment Relations Authority (set out in subpart 1 ); and

b) ratified by the employees and employers who would be covered by the proposed agreement (set out in subpart 2 ); and

c) verified by the chief executive (set out in subpart 3 ); and

d) checked by the chief executive for any coverage overlap with a fair pay agreement (set out in subpart 4 ); and

e) brought into force by the chief executive issuing a notice (set out in subpart 5 ).

10 Part 9 contains provisions that specify how a fair pay agreement may be varied (set out in subpart 1 ), or renewed or replaced (set out in subpart 2 ).

11 Part 10 relates to penalties and enforcement.

12 Part 11 contains provisions relating to employment relations institutions and includes the following subparts:

a) subpart 1 , which relates to mediation services:

b) subpart 2 , which requires the chief executive to provide bargaining support services:

c) subpart 3 , which provides for the role of the Authority, including determining whether a proposed agreement or a fair pay agreement provides the better terms overall when there is coverage overlap, assessing a proposed FPA for compliance with this Act and other legislation, and making determinations and recommendations on the content of proposed FPAs.

13 Part 12 contains the provisions that apply if a bargaining party applies to the Authority for a determination of a proposed agreement in the complete or partial absence of a bargaining side.

14 Part 13 contains miscellaneous provisions, including provisions relating to representation, record-keeping, employee contact details, the powers of Labour Inspectors to determine whether an employee is covered by a fair pay agreement, and the power to make regulations.

15 The Act contains the following 4 schedules:

a) Schedule 1 sets out the transitional provisions:

b) Schedule 2 sets out the number of votes a covered employer can make in a ratification vote, which depends on the number of the employer’s covered employees:

c) Schedule 3 applies provisions of the Employment Relations Act 2000 that relate to the Authority and the court:

d) Schedule 4 contains consequential amendments to other legislation.