Shift workers able to transfer public holidays

A bill to allow shift workers to transfer their public holidays was passed this morning.

The Holidays (Transfer of Public Holidays) Amendment Bill affects workers whose shift crossed midnight on a public holiday.

The bill was drafted after a Supreme Court decision ruled that an employer and employee could not transfer a public holiday from a day listed in the Act to another day.

Until the court decision where a shift had ended on a public holiday, many businesses had had agreements with their workers to transfer the public holiday to the following shift the employee would have worked.

During the third reading debate Labour Minister Trevor Mallard said it was a "simple wee bill" to fix up the court decision which "made a mess of it".

National wanted a broader debate around transferring holidays, which Mr Mallard said would see people lose out.

National's Kate Wilkinson said her party did not want to take away holidays but improve flexibility.

She said the Holidays Act had been amended three times since it came into effect in 2004 and needed to be overhauled.

- NZPA