Amanda Reilly Annick Masselot Precarious Work and Work-Family Reconciliation: Options for Law Reforms NZLLS conference 27 November 2015 Victoria University of Wellington Law School

Who are precarious workers? New Zealand’s precarious workers are found across a range of legal arrangements Various forms of non- standard work But even workers in standard employment may experience high levels of insecurity and limited access to legal rights The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions estimates that at least 30% of New Zealand’s workforce is in insecure work Precarious workers are found in different sectors with different requirements. Eg contrast scheduling challenges of seasonal workers in agriculture with on-call casual work in hospitality.

Distribution of non-standard work in NZ Workforce Structure Source: Statistics New Zealand, Survey of Working Life (December 2012)

Who are precarious workers? Precarious workers are not a homogenous group with identical work family reconciliation challenges Different pressures over a life cycle Childcare v. Eldercare Gender Ethnicity Māori Pasifika Refugees and new immigrants

If we were to generalise the following are likely to create work family reconciliation challenges for precarious workers… Overwork- too many hours & no ability to say no Insufficient hours Unpredictable and irregular hours Flexibility for employers but none for workers

Working Time Regulation There is little direct regulation of working time and that which there is under enforced and not available to all workers. Maximum working hours provision in s11B of the Minimum Wages Act prevents an employer from fixing working hours above 40 hours a week unless agreed by the parties No requirement for minimum hours “zero hours bill” Right to request flexibility not restricted to family reasons Is mostly token, maximum penalty of $2000 for non compliance with process, no case law

Unions New Zealand has voluntary union membership 1 in 5 workers in New Zealand is covered by a Collective Employment Agreement Union membership is declining. However unions remain key in: Negotiating working time provisions into collective agreements Litigation Influencing public debate and policy.

Unions initiatives Collective bargaining / litigation/ Advocacy UNITE recently succeed in Getting all major fast food restaurants chains + Skycity to agree to no zero hours in collective contract Getting public support for legislative intervention on zero hours. Port of Auckland Industrial dispute FIRST Union – New Zealand Bank / Bunnings Litigation (Service and Food Workers Union): Idea Services Limited v. Dickson

Options for Law Reform Regulate minimum and maximum hours and notice of hours requirements Extend scope of employee related protections to other categories of worker “Casual loading”/require employers to pay a premium for irregular scheduling practices. Strengthen right to request flexibility provision Strengthen enforcement and penalties for non-compliance Support unions- extension bargaining.