[New Zealand] Proposing a workplace change that could affect jobs

When an employer is considering making a change, their first step is to look at the employment agreements and workplace policies. These set out the basis for the employment relationship and the process for changing its terms. Employment New Zealand offers an overview of successfully facilitating a workplace change in NZ.

Workplace change does not automatically mean removing (or disestablishing) jobs, however, it could mean that people’s jobs change. Workplace change can also be referred to as restructuring.

According to Employment New Zealand, employers following a well-considered change process will reduce their chance of claims of:

• breaches of the duty of good faith
• unjustifiable disadvantage
• unjustifiable dismissal.

There are standard rules that apply to all change processes, these cover business reasons for making a change and the requirement for an employer to consult with employees.

Business reasons for making a change

Employers have a right to make changes to their businesses and structure their businesses in what they believe to be the most effective way to deliver to their customers and their strategy.

Workplace change is not a way to avoid managing individual employee performance issues. Employment New Zealand warns that organisations cannot ‘restructure’ to ‘get rid of’ an employment problem, these have to be handled correctly.

Employers must demonstrate that any proposals that could affect jobs must be for genuine business reasons. Employers should be able to produce evidence of the need for change, or the identified and stated benefit, if required in the process. 

Examples of genuine business reasons are:

• improved technology
• more productive business processes
• product changes
• loss of suppliers or markets
• shifts in customer or market requirements
• financial reasons.

Changes of this nature could lead to a structural change such as:

• adding new roles
• merging two or more existing roles
• refocussing aspects of a role
• removing roles that are not needed
• a combination of these things.

Employers must carefully document all decisions and reasoning about any change that might result in an employee’s job being significantly changed, or an employee being made redundant.

Employment New Zealand’s workplace change process gives an outline of the process an employer should follow when working through a change.

Requirement to consult with employees

Where a proposed change might affect people’s jobs, employers should reportedly include a fair and reasonable consultation process. This must comply with minimum standards of good faith; this includes giving affected employees information about the suggested change and an opportunity to comment on it.

A fair and reasonable consultation process needs to include the following minimum steps:

• Before any final decisions are made, circulate the business proposal for change to all employees likely to be affected
• Give employees reasonable time to respond, comment and suggest other options
• Consider, and take into account, the responses before any final decisions are made about the business.

Source: Employment New Zealand

(Link via original reporting)

When an employer is considering making a change, their first step is to look at the employment agreements and workplace policies. These set out the basis for the employment relationship and the process for changing its terms. Employment New Zealand offers an overview of successfully facilitating a workplace change in NZ.

Workplace change does not automatically mean removing (or disestablishing) jobs, however, it could mean that people’s jobs change. Workplace change can also be referred to as restructuring.

According to Employment New Zealand, employers following a well-considered change process will reduce their chance of claims of:

• breaches of the duty of good faith
• unjustifiable disadvantage
• unjustifiable dismissal.

There are standard rules that apply to all change processes, these cover business reasons for making a change and the requirement for an employer to consult with employees.

Business reasons for making a change

Employers have a right to make changes to their businesses and structure their businesses in what they believe to be the most effective way to deliver to their customers and their strategy.

Workplace change is not a way to avoid managing individual employee performance issues. Employment New Zealand warns that organisations cannot ‘restructure’ to ‘get rid of’ an employment problem, these have to be handled correctly.

Employers must demonstrate that any proposals that could affect jobs must be for genuine business reasons. Employers should be able to produce evidence of the need for change, or the identified and stated benefit, if required in the process. 

Examples of genuine business reasons are:

• improved technology
• more productive business processes
• product changes
• loss of suppliers or markets
• shifts in customer or market requirements
• financial reasons.

Changes of this nature could lead to a structural change such as:

• adding new roles
• merging two or more existing roles
• refocussing aspects of a role
• removing roles that are not needed
• a combination of these things.

Employers must carefully document all decisions and reasoning about any change that might result in an employee’s job being significantly changed, or an employee being made redundant.

Employment New Zealand’s workplace change process gives an outline of the process an employer should follow when working through a change.

Requirement to consult with employees

Where a proposed change might affect people’s jobs, employers should reportedly include a fair and reasonable consultation process. This must comply with minimum standards of good faith; this includes giving affected employees information about the suggested change and an opportunity to comment on it.

A fair and reasonable consultation process needs to include the following minimum steps:

• Before any final decisions are made, circulate the business proposal for change to all employees likely to be affected
• Give employees reasonable time to respond, comment and suggest other options
• Consider, and take into account, the responses before any final decisions are made about the business.

Source: Employment New Zealand

(Link via original reporting)