Mike Hosking: Govt mad to change 90-day trial for workers

The 90-day trial period has been an unqualified success and created jobs. Photo / 123RF

A couple of numbers to give us some insight into the value of the 90-day trial period.

The 90-day deal was designed to allow employers to take on new employees on a no-risk sort of basis to see if they fitted into the company.

It has been an unqualified success, jobs have been created because of it. And this is why the workplace reform announced this week by the new Government has so many people worried. They don't get it.

They don't understand the workplace or how it works and the risks involved, especially given so many of them have never been in the position of owning their own businesses.

Under this new Government the 90-day trial period only survives because of New Zealand First who saved it, but they only partially saved it. The trial period will only apply to those employing under 20 people.

So to the numbers. This is an employers survey, and 77 per cent said the trial law was extremely important in the decision-making process as to whether to hire.

• 90 per cent had kept employees on after the trial period.
• 94 per cent of employees had stayed on for longer than 12 to 18 months.

So in other words, it works, it's useful, it's vital - and it creates jobs.

Those who get jobs are happy, those who get hired stay. So all the bollocks peddled by the Government and unions for ripping it apart is shown to be false.

And their argument is: this was an open door for abuse. This was a bad employer's free invitation to wreak havoc with young people's lives.

This was a race to the bottom, workers were puppets at the hands of the all-powerful who would hire, abuse, and spit them out the other end.

It is a stark example of the extraordinary disconnect between some in the Government and the unions towards what actually happens in the modern workforce.

This was a chance to assess employees. Were they fit for purpose? Did they turn up? Did they have a good attitude? Did they contribute?

And the reason that is important is because in a climate of low unemployment, good people are hard to find. And we live in a land where once you're hired it's pretty much impossible to sack someone.

And certainly sacking someone for basically being useless has been essentially outlawed.
So given that hurdle, many an employer said to themselves, why bother?

Well the 90-day trial changed that, but the unions and the Government don't want to see it. You would hope in a survey like this, proof positive of the benefits of a good idea they might reconsider.

They might be interested in people getting a break and into work. Or they might still be blinded by ideology, you'd like to think not.