FOR

Payroll professionals and anyone responsible for managing or paying employees in relation to employee leave entitlements.

PURPOSE

Understanding and applying the rules, risks, and requirements of employee leave is an essential skill for any organisation. Without knowledge of the different types of leave, when employees become eligible, what they should be paid, and how these payments are calculated, organisations may face significant costs and potential legal challenges.

COURSE ACCESS

All learning activities are available through the eLearning environment. When starting the course, a course manual will be couriered to the student as the guide for the course.

Students can also access downloadable information and use a range of external website links and resources.

Activities and assessments can be accessed through the eLearning environment, uploaded, and then marked and reported online to the student.

You will also have access to the course material in the form of an online flipping book if you wish to start before the physical course material arrives.

DURATION

As an online course, once the start date is booked, the course will be available for six weeks only. Additional extensions can be requested based on work or other circumstances if needed.

COURSE CONTENT

Holidays Act 2003

• Annual holidays – eligibility, continuous employment, cashing up, rules, and how AWE, OWP, and 8% are applied and calculated.
• Sick leave – eligibility, continuous employment, rules, and how RDP and ADP are applied and calculated.
• Bereavement leave – eligibility, continuous employment, rules, and how RDP and ADP are applied and calculated.
• Family violence leave – eligibility, continuous employment, rules, and how RDP and ADP are applied and calculated.
• Public holidays – rules, transferring to another day, time-and-a-half, and how RDP and ADP are applied and calculated.
• Alternative holidays – otherwise working days, paying out, rules, and how RDP and ADP are applied and calculated.

Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987

Types of leave, eligibility, and timeframes:

• Special leave
• Primary carer’s leave
• Partner’s leave
• Extended leave
• Negotiated carer’s leave
• Keeping in touch days
• Processes, timeframes, letters, and forms
• How parental leave is counted as continuous employment and its impact on Holidays Act entitlements

Module 2 – Other Types of Leave

• Education leave under the ERA 2000
• Jury and witness leave
• Volunteers Employment Protection Act 1973
• Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002
• Other types of leave provided by agreement (e.g., long service leave)

Module 3 – Managing Employee Leave & Final Pays (regarding leave)

Managing employee leave and final pay:

• Payroll reports and tracking employee absenteeism
• Leave liability (what it is and how to manage it)
• Leave forms and maintaining leave records

Final pay regarding leave entitlements and accrual:

• Calculating leave entitlements to be paid out in a final pay

Module 4 – Advanced Employee Leave Topics

Holidays Act 2003:

• Defining payments to be included in different gross earnings periods
• Discretionary payments
• How backpay impacts Holidays Act gross earnings
• Double dipping issues with taxable allowances
• Changing the working week (by agreement) and the impact on annual holidays
• Calculating leave in hours, days, and weeks while ensuring compliance
• Converting hours, days, and weeks when entitlements change
• Understanding divisors for AWE, OWP, and ADP calculations
• Determining an otherwise working day for variable work patterns
• Transferring public holidays (Christmas/New Year, Waitangi Day, Anzac Day)
• Determining an annual leave accrual rate (day/week/month) by agreement

Payments from Holidays Act Remediation:

• Effects of underpayments on gross earnings
• How remediation payments are taxed and their future impact

Parental Leave:

• Extended examples of how parental leave affects gross earnings for annual holiday entitlement before, during, and after leave

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Apply the correct payment to the correct gross earnings period
• Identify the calculations required for entitlements under the Holidays Act 2003
• Explain the types of parental leave and how they are applied
• List other leave entitlements available to employees under law

On completion of the course, attendees will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

NZPPA CERTIFICATION:

• This course will, in part, help in completing the online assessment requirements for NZPPA Certification to become a recognised payroll professional.