49009 (2025). Debbie Ngarewa-Packer to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety

49009 (2025). Debbie Ngarewa-Packer to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: How many workers, if any, will lose sick-leave entitlements under the proposed Holidays Act?

Hon Brooke van Velden: It is not possible to state definitively how many employees will lose sick leave entitlements under a shift to hours-based accrual. The RIS produced by MBIE identifies that many part-time employees will become entitled to less sick leave compared to the status quo. Part-time employees make up approximately 21 percent of the total workforce. However, the impacts will depend on the specific working arrangement, and not all part-time workers will necessarily be worse off. For example, a part-time employee who works five two-hour shifts each week will accrue 20 hours of sick leave per year, which is equivalent to the 10 days provided under the current Act. Some casual employees technically become entitled to sick leave under the current Act. However, they are unlikely to benefit from this entitlement in practice due to impracticality and compliance issues. Under my proposed system, casual employees will receive a leave compensation payment (a 12.5 percent loading) instead of accruing both annual leave and sick leave.