Get an introductory understanding of the new Employment Leave Act with NZPPA’s 4-Webinar OnDemand Pack.

NZPPA has developed a range of OnDemand webinars covering key areas payroll practitioners need to understand as they prepare for the new Employment Leave Act. Together, these four webinars provide over 10 hours of information, along with comprehensive webinar notes and supporting materials for each topic.

You can select one webinar or the whole four-webinar pack.

Who Should Attend

Payroll practitioners, payroll managers, HR professionals, payroll software users, employment relations advisers, and anyone responsible for payroll compliance or preparing for the proposed Employment Leave Act.

Webinar 1: Introduction to the Employment Leave Act 2026 for Payroll Practitioners

This introductory 3.5-hour webinar provides payroll practitioners with a practical introduction to the proposed Employment Leave Act. It explains the new framework, introduces the key concepts and terminology, and outlines the major payroll implications to help organisations begin preparing for implementation.

This webinar provides the first step towards understanding the proposed Employment Leave Act. It introduces the new legislative framework, explains the key concepts that underpin the Act, and outlines how payroll, HR and employment records will be affected.

The webinar is designed as an introductory overview only and does not cover detailed calculations, advanced technical scenarios or transitional implementation rules.

Key Topics:

• Why the Holidays Act 2003 is being replaced and what changes under the new framework.
• The new working-hours framework, including standard, additional, casual and availability hours.
• Leave Compensation Payments (LCP) and their relationship to leave accrual.
• Annual leave, sick leave, bereavement leave and family violence leave under the proposed Act.
• Public holidays, alternative leave and otherwise working day rules.
• Employment agreements, working patterns, multiple roles and employee records.
• Payroll record-keeping, pay statements and system preparation.

Webinar 2: Employment Agreement Readiness for the New Employment Leave Act

This practical 3-hour webinar helps payroll, HR and employment professionals understand how employment agreements interact with the proposed Employment Leave Act and what changes organisations should review.

Employment agreement wording has a significant influence on how the Employment Leave Act operates in payroll. This webinar examines employment agreements from a payroll perspective, helping attendees identify provisions that should be retained, clarified or amended, while distinguishing employment agreement requirements from matters better addressed through workplace policies, payroll procedures or system configuration.

The webinar also explores how contractual leave entitlements above the statutory minimum may interact with the proposed legislation and what employers should review before implementation.

Key Topics:

• How employment agreements influence leave accrual and leave payments.
• Standard, additional, casual and availability hours.
• Pay structures, allowances, multiple roles and employment types.
• Leave provisions, public holidays, closedowns and final pay.
• Employment agreement wording versus workplace policies and payroll procedures.
• Preparing payroll and HR teams for implementation.

Webinar 3: Introduction to Notional Rosters Under the Employment Leave Act for Payroll

This introductory 2-hour webinar provides payroll practitioners with a clear foundation in the purpose and operation of notional rosters. It explains when a notional roster may be needed, how it differs from an employment agreement and an operational work roster, and why payroll will need access to accurate and current working-pattern information.

Notional rosters are a new and important feature of the Employment Leave legislation. They will be required where an employee has standard hours, but their employment agreement does not fully specify the days and times those hours are to be worked.

For payroll, the notional roster will help establish when an employee is expected to work and, consequently, when certain types of leave may be taken, paid and deducted. This makes accurate roster information essential to the operation of the new hours-based leave framework.

The webinar will introduce the effect notional rosters may have on annual leave, sick leave, bereavement leave and family violence leave. It will also identify the basic employment agreement, payroll system, record-keeping and process changes organisations should begin considering before the new legislation is implemented.

This is an introductory programme. It is intended to build awareness and understanding of the new concepts and their payroll implications. It will not attempt to cover every complex calculation, exception or transitional provision.

Key Topics:

• What is a notional roster?
• When might a notional roster be required?
• Employment agreements, work rosters and notional rosters
• Information expected in a notional roster
• Effect on annual leave
• Effect on sick leave
• Effect on bereavement and family violence leave
• Relationship with public holidays
• Keeping a notional roster current
• Introductory payroll system considerations
• Common payroll risks

Webinar 4: Introduction to the New Calculations and Statutory Tests Under the Employment Leave Act for Payroll

This introductory 2-hour webinar provides payroll practitioners with an overview of the principal calculations and statutory tests that will underpin leave processing under the new legislation.

The Employment Leave Act introduces a substantially different framework for calculating, paying, deducting and recording statutory leave. Payroll practitioners will need to move away from many of the existing weeks-, days- and variable-earnings-based calculations under the Holidays Act 2003 to a predominantly hours-based system supported by new statutory formulas and tests.

The webinar will explain how annual and sick leave accrue in hours, how leave hours and part-days are determined, how the new otherwise-working-day tests operate, and how public-holiday and alternative-leave entitlements are established. It will also introduce the common leave hourly rate, the treatment of qualifying fixed allowances and the 12.5% Leave Compensation Payment applying to additional and casual hours.

Practical examples will demonstrate that payroll cannot correctly process leave by applying a calculation alone. It must first identify the employee’s working arrangement, classify their hours correctly, apply the relevant statutory test and determine the hours to which the calculation applies.

This introductory webinar is designed to build awareness and provide a practical foundation. It will not attempt to provide advanced calculation training or address every exception, transitional provision or industry-specific arrangement.

Key Topics:

• Introducing the new calculation framework
• Standard, additional and casual hours
• Annual leave accrual calculation
• Sick leave accrual calculation
• The Leave Compensation Payment calculation
• Tests for determining when leave may be taken
• Calculating annual and sick leave taken in hours
• Calculating part-day bereavement and family violence leave
• The otherwise-working-day tests
• Determining relevant public-holiday hours
• Public-holiday payment tests and calculations
• Alternative leave calculation
• Introduction to the common leave hourly rate
• Salaried employee calculation
• Waged, piece-rate and commission employees
• Qualifying fixed allowances

Learning Outcomes

By completing the four webinars, participants will be able to:

1. Explain why the Holidays Act 2003 is being replaced and describe the structure and purpose of the proposed Employment Leave Act.
2. Recognise the key payroll concepts, terminology and working-hour categories introduced by the new legislation.
3. Understand how employment agreements, working patterns, notional rosters and payroll data interact with the new framework.
4. Identify the principal new payroll calculations and statutory tests introduced by the proposed legislation.
5. Recognise the practical payroll, HR, employment agreement and system changes organisations should begin preparing for.

Practical Outcome

Together, the four webinars provide a structured introduction to the proposed Employment Leave Act, from the overall legislative framework and employment agreement requirements through to notional rosters, calculations and statutory tests.

Attendees will gain a practical foundation for understanding the terminology, working patterns, payroll information, calculations and statutory tests that will underpin the new employment leave framework.

What is Included in the OnDemand Pack

• 4 OnDemand webinars providing over 10 hours of information
• Webinar recording for each topic
• Comprehensive webinar notes for each webinar
• Webinar presentation slides, if used
• Questions and answers from the webinars
• Additional supporting documents, where provided
• Presenter’s contact email for follow-up questions, where provided

OnDemand Webinar Information

The four webinars are available OnDemand, allowing participants to watch the recordings at a time that suits them.

Once your purchase is confirmed, you will receive access to the webinar recordings and available supporting materials.

Cost

4 Webinar OnDemand Pack:

• NZPPA Member: $300 + GST
• NZPPA Non-member: $400 + GST

Single Webinar Cost:

• NZPPA Member: $85 + GST
• NZPPA Non-member: $105 + GST

*Content may be updated as further legislative changes become known.