	Title
1	Short Title and commencement
2	Interpretation
3	“State services” defined
4	External comparability
5	New sections substituted
	“9	Objectives relating to prescribing of conditions of employment
	“10	Criteria relating to pay scales for occupational classes
	“10a	Benchmark positions
	“11	Application of criteria relating to pay scales of occupational classes
	“12	General considerations applying in respect of pay scales
6	Repeal of provision relating to biennial reviews
7	Criteria for general review of remuneration
8	Pay Research Unit
9	Repeal of Part VIIa of principal Act
10	Heading to Part VIII amended
11	Power of Minister to refer to Tribunal existing or threatened strike or lockout affecting essential service or export slaughterhouse
12	Repeal of provision relating to penalties
13	Repeal of provision relating to suspension of striking employees
14	Power of employing authority or employer to make deductions from wages or salary in certain circumstances
	Administrative information

An Act to amend the State Services Conditions of Employment Act 1977

BE IT ENACTED by the General Assembly of New Zealand in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 Short Title and commencement

(1)

This Act may be cited as the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act (No. 2) 1985, and shall be read together with and deemed part of the State Services Conditions of Employment Act 1977 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act).

(2)

Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, this Act shall come into force on the day on which it receives the Governor-General’s assent.

(3)

Section 3 of this Act shall come into force on a date to be appointed by the Governor-General by Order in Council, and different dates may be so appointed for the purposes of different groups or classes of employees.

2 Interpretation

(1)

Section 2(1) of the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing the definition of the term “benchmark positions” (as inserted by section 3 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983).

(2)

Section 2(1) of the principal Act is hereby further amended by inserting, after the definition of the term “essential service” (as inserted by section 2(1) of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1981), the following definition:

“‘External comparability’ has the meaning given to it by section 5a of this Act:”.

(3)

Section 2(1) of the principal Act is hereby further amended by inserting, in their appropriate alphabetical order, the following definitions:

“‘Junior dental officer’ means any person employed by an area health board or a hospital board as a dental house surgeon, dental registrar, or senior dental registrar:

“‘Resident medical officer’ means any person employed by an area health board or a hospital board as a house surgeon, registrar, or senior house officer:”.

3 “State services” defined

Section 4(1)(c) of the principal Act is hereby amended by repealing subparagraph (iii), and substituting the following subparagraphs:

“(iii)

Persons, being medical practitioners employed as medical officers in the Health Service (other than medical practitioners employed as resident medical officers in the Health Service); or

“(iiia)

Persons, being dentists employed as dental officers in the Health Service (other than dentists employed as junior dental officers in the Health Service); or”.

4 External comparability

(1)

The principal Act is hereby amended by repealing section 5a (as inserted by section 4 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983), and substituting the following section:

“5a

“(1)

For the purposes of this Act, external comparability, in relation to conditions of employment of employees of the State services, can be achieved if a comparison can be made between—

“(a)

The conditions of employment of employees holding positions in the State services or the relevant occupational class, as the case may require; and

“(b)

The conditions of employment provided by good employers outside the State services to persons who hold positions that have duties and responsibilities that are closely comparable with the duties and responsibilities of the positions in the State services or the relevant occupational class, as the case may require.

“(2)

A comparison cannot be made, for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, if—

“(a)

The conditions of employment of the persons holding positions outside the State services are—

(i)

Based on conditions of employment in the State services; or

(ii)

Determined in accordance with or under the criteria of this Act; or

“(b)

The conditions of employment (other than pay scales) of the persons holding positions outside the State services differ sufficiently to prevent a fair comparison; or

“(c)

The remuneration of the persons holding positions outside the State services is derived wholly or substantially from the Government or from rates or from levies or from licence fees.”

(2)

Section 4 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983 is hereby consequentially repealed.

5 New sections substituted

(1)

The principal Act is hereby amended by repealing sections 9 to 12 (as substituted by section 6 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983), and substituting the following sections:

“9 Objectives relating to prescribing of conditions of employment

“(1)

Except in the case of conditions of employment referred to in paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of section 7(1a) of this Act, in prescribing under this Act conditions of employment of employees of the State services or of any branch of the State services, every employing authority shall prescribe conditions of employment that are broadly in line with conditions of employment outside the State services.

“(2)

In applying subsection (1) of this section to the prescribing of pay scales, every employing authority shall, in addition to the obligations placed on it by that subsection, aim to set for each occupational class a pay scale that—

“(a)

Will enable the State services to recruit and retain an efficient staff; and

“(b)

Will take account of special responsibilities or conditions applying to employment in the occupational class; and

“(c)

Will be fair to the tax-paying public and to employees in the State services.

“(3)

Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2) of this section, every employing authority, in prescribing under this Act conditions of employment of employees of the State services or of any branch of the State services, shall have regard to the special features of employment in the State services or branch of the State services, as the case may require.

“10 Criteria relating to pay scales for occupational classes

“(1)

In applying section 9 of this Act to the prescribing under this Act of the pay scales of employees who belong to any occupational class, every employing authority shall have regard to:

“(a)

External comparability, where it can be achieved, in relation to the remuneration currently being received by employees in that occupational class:

“(b)

Vertical relativity, being the adequacy, after taking into account differences of responsibility and skill, of the margins between the salary steps in that occupational class, and between salaries in that occupational class and salaries determined by the Higher Salaries Commission under the Higher Salaries Commission Act 1977:

“(c)

Horizontal relativity, being either—

“(i)

A comparison between the current remuneration being received by employees in positions in the occupational class under review and the current remuneration being received by employees in positions in other occupational classes for which external comparability is achieved, being positions that, however dissimilar in job content, have some similar requirements such as education, training, or skill to the positions in the occupational class under review, which comparison shall involve taking into account any differences in the levels of skill and responsibility between the positions being compared; or

“(ii)

A comparison between the current remuneration being received by employees in positions in the occupational class under review and the current remuneration being received by employees in positions outside the State services, being positions that, however dissimilar in job content, have some similar requirements such as education, training, or skill to the positions in the occupational class under review, which comparison shall involve taking into account any differences in the levels of skill and responsibility between the positions being compared:

“(d)

Internal relativity, being either—

“(i)

A comparison between the current remuneration being received by employees in positions in the occupational class under review and the current remuneration being received by employees in positions in another occupational class, being positions that have duties or responsibilities that are closely comparable with the duties or responsibilities of positions in the occupational class under review; or

“(ii)

A comparison between the current remuneration being received by employees in positions in the occupational class under review and the current remuneration being received by employees in positions in other occupational classes, being positions that, however dissimilar in job content, have some similar requirements such as education, training, or skill to the positions in the occupational class under review, which comparison shall involve taking into account any differences in the levels of skill and responsibility between the positions being compared:

“(e)

Recruitment and retention, being the need to attract, and to hold at all levels of that occupational class, enough employees of sufficient competence to enable the employing authority to provide efficiently, and without endangering the health or safety of those employed in that occupational class, the services that are required to be provided by that authority:

“(f)

The adequacy of the current pay scale to meet the need mentioned in paragraph (e) of this subsection.

“(2)

Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall prevent the employing authority, in applying section 9 of this Act to the prescribing under this Act of the pay scales of employees who belong to any occupational class, making a comparison between the current remuneration being received by employees in positions in the occupational class under review and the current remuneration being received by—

“(a)

Persons—

“(i)

Who hold positions outside the State services, being positions that have duties or responsibilities that are closely comparable with the duties and responsibilities of positions in that occupational class; and

“(ii)

Who are in the employ of an employer who is, in respect of the occupation of those persons, the major or only employer, outside the State services, of persons in that occupation or who is a member of a class of employers which is, in respect of the occupation of those persons, the major or only class of employers, outside the State services, of persons in that occupation; or

“(b)

Persons—

“(i)

Who hold positions outside the State services, being positions that, however dissimilar in job content, have some similar requirements such as education, training, or skill to the positions in that occupational class; and

“(ii)

Who would, but for section 4(1)(c) of this Act, be employees employed in the same branch of the State services as the employees in that occupational class,—

which comparison shall involve taking into account any differences in the levels of skill and responsibility between the positions being compared.

“(3)

A comparison cannot be made, for the purposes of subsection (1)(c)(ii) of this section, if the conditions of employment of the persons holding positions outside the State services would be precluded, by any of the provisions of section 5a(2) of this Act (other than subsection (2)(a)(ii) of that section), from being used for the purposes of a comparison of external comparability under section 5a(1) of this Act.

“10a Benchmark positions

“(1)

In prescribing pay scales under this Act, every employing authority may from time to time, if the employing authority considers it desirable, establish benchmark positions to reflect the criteria under section 10(1) of this Act.

“(2)

Benchmark positions shall be those positions that are determined by any employing authority from time to time as being positions that meet any of the criteria under section 10(1) of this Act.

“(3)

Where any employing authority establishes any position as a benchmark position—

“(a)

That employing authority shall identify the paragraph of section 10(1) of this Act under which the benchmark position is established; and

“(b)

Weight shall be given to that benchmark position in accordance with section 11 of this Act.

“(4)

Notwithstanding anything in any other provision of this section, an employing authority may from time to time alter, vary, or disestablish any benchmark position or may, when prescribing pay scales under this Act, disregard any benchmark position.

“(5)

Benchmark positions are to be used as an aid to achieve the aims specified in section 9 of this Act and shall always be applied subject to the provisions of that section.

“11 Application of criteria relating to pay scales of occupational classes

In applying the criteria set out in section 10 of this Act, they shall be given weight as follows:

“(a)

In the case of external comparability, the closer the resemblance between the duties and responsibilities of the positions being compared, the greater shall be the weight to be given to external comparability in comparison with other relativities:

“(b)

In the case of vertical relativity, the more closely pay rates based on vertical relativity are linked to external comparability, the greater shall be the weight attached to vertical relativity; and in this connection, without limiting the generality of the foregoing provisions of this paragraph,—

“(i)

The more accurately a benchmark based on external comparability has been fixed, the greater shall be the confidence in margins calculated from it:

“(ii)

The greater the number of benchmarks based on external comparability within a class, the greater shall be the confidence in a structure of margins based on that framework:

“(iii)

The narrower the range between benchmarks based on external comparability, the greater shall be the confidence in interpolated margins:

“(iv)

Interpolated margins shall command more confidence than extrapolated margins,—

so that pay rate which, for reasons such as those specified in subparagraphs (i) to (iv) of this paragraph, commands a high degree of confidence may outweigh one insecurely based on external comparability:

“(c)

Horizontal relativities shall have weight only when no closer comparisons are available; and in choosing between them the more likely a comparison is to indicate pay rates that are in accordance with section 9 of this Act and are realistic for the occupation under review, the greater shall be its weight:

“(d)

Internal relativities shall have weight only when no external comparability and no horizontal relativities are available; and in choosing between internal relativities the more likely a comparison is to indicate pay rates that are in accordance with section 9 of this Act and are realistic for the occupation under review, the greater shall be its weight:

“(e)

Whenever abnormal ease or difficulty in attracting and holding enough competent staff indicates that pay rates based on relativities are out of touch with market realities, recruitment and retention shall outweigh the relativity criteria.

“12 General considerations applying in respect of pay scales

In applying sections 9 to 11 of this Act, the following provisions shall apply:

“(a)

Current remuneration means current wage or salary rates, unless it can be shown, taking into account other conditions of service, that effective remuneration differs from wage or salary, and that such a difference can be evaluated:

“(b)

References to employment outside the State services shall be limited to employment in New Zealand, unless it can be shown that there is an effective demand outside New Zealand for New Zealand staff of the occupation and grade concerned, in which case the pay scale shall be fixed (taking into account overseas salaries together with other relevant factors) at a level that will enable the State services to recruit and retain an efficient staff:

“(c)

References to employment outside the State services shall not include self employed persons:

“Provided that, when so many of the counterparts of those in the occupation and grade concerned are self-employed as to prevent the application of external comparability, then the pay scale shall be fixed (taking into account the incomes of self-employed persons together with other relevant factors) at a level that will enable the State services to recruit and retain an efficient staff:

“(d)

References to employment outside the State services shall be limited to employment with good employers, that is to say, those maintaining standards which are generally accepted for the time being as necessary minima; and (apart from general adjustments, based on the widest sampling of the sector outside the State services) comparisons shall, where possible, be made with employers who are competing in the same labour market as the State services and whose conditions of employment are similar:

“(e)

External comparability shall require, not that State services pay for a benchmark position based on external comparability shall correspond to the mean of the rates for its counterparts outside the State services, but that it shall fall within a reasonable range about that figure, taking into account such other relevant considerations as the quality of performance sought, the record of recruitment and retention in that occupation, the likely changes in future demand, and the provisions of section 9(3) of this Act:

“(f)

External comparability shall not require the setting of separate district pay scales for occupational classes which have a distribution throughout New Zealand, and State services pay scales (except under awards and industrial agreements) shall be uniform throughout New Zealand:

“(g)

In determining whether there is abnormal ease in recruiting and retaining staff of an occupation in the State services, account shall be taken, as the case may require, of one or more of the following factors:

“(i)

The historical pattern of recruitment and retention that has previously applied in respect of that occupation:

“(ii)

Where external comparability can be achieved, the recruitment and retention situation of persons employed in comparable positions outside the State services:

“(iii)

Where the State is the major or only employer of employees in that occupation, the recruitment and retention situation applying in respect of the State services as a whole:

“(h)

Each reference to abnormal difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff of an occupation in the State services means difficulty that is shown to be of such magnitude that it impairs or will impair the effectiveness with which the employing authority can provide the standard and extent of the services that it is required to provide and, in determining whether there is abnormal difficulty in recruiting or retaining staff, account shall be taken, as the case may require, of one or more of the following factors:

“(i)

The historical pattern of recruitment and retention that has previously applied in respect of that occupation:

“(ii)

Where external comparability can be achieved, the recruitment and retention situation of persons employed in comparable positions outside the State services:

“(iii)

Where the State is the major or only employer of employees in that occupation, the recruitment and retention situation applying in respect of the State services as a whole:

“(i)

Where it appears likely that, by virtue of the application of section 11(e) of this Act, recruitment and retention will outweigh the relativity criteria, the estimated extra cost of getting more staff at increased rates shall be compared with the benefit which the State services expect to derive from their employment:

“(j)

Subject to any other enactment, it shall be for the employing authority in each case to decide, after having regard to the need to preserve the health and safety of the employees of that occupational class, the standard and extent of the services referred to in paragraph (h) of this section and in section 10(1)(e) of this Act:

“Provided that an employing authority shall not, for the purpose of avoiding the application of the provisions or criteria applicable under paragraph (h) of this section or section 10(1)(e) of this Act to any current review of pay scales, redetermine the standard and extent of those services:

“(k)

For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that, in determining pay scales in the State services, the results arising from the application (in accordance with section 11 of this Act) of the criteria set out in section 10 of this Act shall always be measured against the provisions of section 9 of this Act.”

(2)

Section 6 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983 is hereby consequentially repealed.

6 Repeal of provision relating to biennial reviews

(1)

The following enactments are hereby repealed, namely:

(a)

Section 30a of the principal Act:

(b)

Section 8 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983.

(2)

Section 31(1) of the principal Act (as substituted by section 9 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983) is hereby consequentially amended by omitting the words “, subject to section 30a of this Act,”.

7 Criteria for general review of remuneration

Section 32(6) of the principal Act (as substituted by section 10(2) of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983) is hereby amended by omitting the words “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

8 Pay Research Unit

(1)

The principal Act is hereby amended by repealing section 33 (as substituted by section 11 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983), and substituting the following section:

“33

“(1)

There shall be a Pay Research Unit which shall operate under such rules as may be agreed for the time being between the Co-ordinating Committee and the service organisations whose members are likely to be affected thereby, or failing agreement, as prescribed by the Minister after consultation with those service organisations.

“(2)

The Pay Research Unit shall carry out such pay research exercises as may from time to time be determined under its rules.

“(3)

The results of any pay research exercise—

“(a)

Shall be made available to every employing authority and service organisation whose employees or members will be affected by the exercise; and

“(b)

Shall be taken into account in fixing the pay scales for the occupational class affected.”

(2)

Section 11 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983 is hereby consequentially repealed.

9 Repeal of Part VIIa of principal Act

The following enactments are hereby repealed, namely:

(a)

Subsections (3) and (4) of section 1 of the principal Act (as substituted by section 2(1) of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983):

(b)

Part VIIa of the principal Act:

(c)

Section 14 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983.

10 Heading to Part VIII amended

Part VIII of the principal Act is hereby amended by omitting from the heading of that Part the word “UNJUSTIFIED”.

11 Power of Minister to refer to Tribunal existing or threatened strike or lockout affecting essential service or export slaughterhouse

Section 68b of the principal Act (as inserted by section 4 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1981) is hereby amended by repealing subsection (6).

12 Repeal of provision relating to penalties

(1)

The following enactments are hereby repealed, namely:

(a)

Section 68c of the principal Act:

(b)

Subsections (2) and (3) of section 7 of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1981:

(c)

The State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1982.

(2)

Section 73(2) of the principal Act (as substituted by section 6(1) of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1981) is hereby consequentially amended by omitting the words “or section 68c”.

(3)

Section 74 of the principal Act (as amended by section 7(2) of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1981) is hereby consequentially amended by omitting the expression “section 68c”.

(4)

Section 75 of the principal Act (as amended by section 7(3) of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1981) is hereby consequentially amended by omitting the expression “section 68c” in both places where it appears.

13 Repeal of provision relating to suspension of striking employees

(1)

Section 71 of the principal Act is hereby repealed.

(2)

Section 1 of the principal Act (as amended by section 2(1) of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983) is hereby amended by repealing subsection (6), and substituting the following subsection:

“(6)

Section 72 of the principal Act, to the extent that that section applies to the acts or omissions of employees, shall come into force on a date to be appointed by the Governor-General by Order in Council; and different dates may be so appointed for the purpose of different provisions of that section or for the purposes of different groups or classes of employees of the State services or of both”.

(3)

Section 1(7) of the principal Act (as substituted by section 2(1) of the State Services Conditions of Employment Amendment Act 1983) is hereby amended by omitting the words “sections 71 and”, and substituting the word “section”.

14 Power of employing authority or employer to make deductions from wages or salary in certain circumstances

The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting, before section 72, the following section:

“71a

“(1)

Where any employee, whether acting individually or together with one or more other employees,—

“(a)

Discontinues the employee’s employment, whether wholly or in part, or reduces the normal performance of it; or

“(b)

Breaks the employee’s contract of service; or

“(c)

Refuses or fails after any such discontinuance to resume or return to the employee’s employment; or

“(d)

Refuses or fails to accept engagement for any work in which the employee is usually employed; or

“(e)

Reduces the employee’s normal output or the employee’s normal rate of work,—

neither the employer nor the employing authority shall be liable to pay the employee in respect of the period during which the discontinuance or reduction or breach or refusal or failure continues and the employer or the employing authority may deduct from the wages or salary of the employee an amount not exceeding the amount the employer or employing authority is not liable to pay.

“(2)

Nothing in this section limits any other right of an employing authority or an employer to refuse to pay an employee who is without authorisation absent from his usual place of employment or who fails to carry out his normal work.

“(3)

Any deduction made under subsection (1) of this section may be made from any wages or salary to which the employee becomes entitled within the 2 months following the employee’s return to normal work.

“(4)

In any case where the employing authority is not also the employer, any action taken under this section by the employing authority shall be binding on the employer and the employer shall without need for further authority fully comply with the decision of the employing authority.

“(5)

Where any employer or employing authority decides to make a deduction, under subsection (1) of this section, from the wages or salary of any employee, the employee or any service organisation representing the employee may appeal to the Public Sector Tribunal against the decision. The appellant shall,—

“(a)

Within 14 days after the date on which the decision to make the deduction is made known to the employee, give to the employing authority written notice of the appellant’s intention to appeal; and

“(b)

Within 7 days after the date on which that notice is given, lodge with the Public Sector Tribunal a written notice of appeal.

“(6)

On any such appeal the Tribunal may confirm, vary, or reverse the decision appealed against.

“(7)

The decision of the Tribunal shall be binding on the employee, the employer, and the employing authority.”

This Act is administered in the State Services Commission.