Holidays Act Related Backpay for Health Works Ballons to $2B
November 17, 2022
PHOTO: Alexander Grey on Unsplash
The amount the country’s hospitals owe to more than a quarter of a million people has exploded to almost $2 billion.
An internal update from Health New Zealand shows the massive job of fixing payroll breaches is bogged down.
Since 2016, thousands of companies and agencies have had to pay out hundreds of millions in backpay for breaches of the complicated Holidays Act.
Hospitals have known for years they were in breach. The government rejected interim payouts in 2020.
But the update showed the hurdles of getting money into workers’ hands were increasing, with even the most basic questions not addressed.
It was estimated 270,000 people were owed a combined $1.8b-$1.95b at least - almost a doubling since 2021.
It also showed more than half the 20 health districts have not started several crucial tasks that must be done by next March to trigger any payout due to start from June 2023.
Major hospitals in Auckland, Waikato and Wellington were among some of the worst delayed.
Time and resources were among issues.