Home and Community Support Services Provider Newsletter
Welcome!
This newsletter is designed to assist Home and Community Support Services (HCSS) providers in implementing the Care and Support Workers (Pay Equity) Settlement. We will be sending these newsletters out weekly to reiterate key messages; provide updates on ongoing processes; and provide information on upcoming events.
This edition outlines recent implementation activities and developments including:
· Key messages
· Key dates
· What’s happening this coming week
· Operational Policy Document: guidance on the Pay Equity Settlement Implementation
· Updated Data Collection Tool: guidance on completing this to ensure you are paid accurate funding on time
· Information sessions for HCSS providers: an overview
· Frequently asked questions
· Contact the pay equity implementation team
Key messages
What is the Settlement?
On 18 April 2017, the Government announced a $2 billion pay equity settlement for 55,000 care and support workers in New Zealand’s aged and disability residential care and home and community support services.
From July 1, workers will receive a pay rise between 15 and 50 per cent depending on their qualifications and or experience. The settlement means over the next five years, the workforce will see their wages increase on a range between $19 and $27 per hour.
Legislation will be introduced to Parliament shortly to implement the settlement agreement and enshrine the new pay rates in law.
This means providers have a legal obligation to ensure employees receive their increased wages in the first pay day from their employer (i.e. weekly or fortnightly, depending on their normal pay run).
A copy of the Settlement Agreement can be found on the Ministry’s website: www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/pages/care-support-workers-pay-equity-settlement-agreement-signed-8may17.pdf.
Implementation approach
Advance interim payments will be made in the first year to ensure providers have funds to cover the increased pay rates from 1 July 2017.
The interim process will revert back to normal contracting and funding arrangements within 12 months or earlier if agreed between the Ministry, funders and providers.
Claiming for union ratification meetings
Further information on the process to claim for an employee’s time to attend a union ratification meeting is available by downloading the ratification meeting claim form on this webpage.
Data Collection Tool
The Data Collection Tool needs to be completed by all HCSS providers by 24 May in order for accurate funding to be paid on time. It is available for download from the Ministry’s website here: www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/care-and-support-workers-pay-equity-settlement/pay-equity-settlement-information-providers.
The Data Collection Tool is being used because:
· The tool helps providers to work through eligibility and translation in order to make changes in their payroll systems.
· The Ministry needs to provide assurance to Ministers that providers will be in a position to accurately pay eligible employees the correct rates from 1 July.
· This information will inform the wash-up in December.
Key dates
· By 24 May 2017: HCSS providers must submit completed Data Collection Tools.
· By 31 May 2017: Claim forms for employee attendance at union ratification meetings must be submitted to the Ministry. Further information on the process to claim for an employee’s time to attend a meeting is available by downloading the ratification meeting claim form on this webpage. Ratification claims received by 31 May will be paid on 20 June 2017. For ratification claims received after 31 May the Ministry will aim to process them within 10 business days but no earlier than 23 June 2017.
· By 1 July 2017: Legislation will be progressed through Parliament to give effect to the Settlement Agreement and ensure the new wage rates are passed onto workers from 1 July.
· From 1 July 2017: Providers have a legal obligation to ensure employees receive their increased wages in the first pay day from their employer (i.e. weekly or fortnightly, depending on their normal pay run).
· From 1 July 2017: Providers will advise funders that they have commenced making payments to employees. Unions will also play a role in ensuring that employees have received the new wages.
What’s happening this coming week
The focus for HCSS providers over the coming week should be on collecting and submitting data and preparing claim forms for employee attendance at union ratification meetings.
Collecting and submitting data
Providers have a legal obligation to pay eligible employees the new pay rates from 1 July 2017.
It is critical that the Ministry receives completed Data Collection Tools by the dates specified in the guidance below in order for accurate funding to be paid on time.
We will be actively working with providers. Any providers who are unable to meet the deadline need to contact us as soon as possible so that we can assist.
Operational Policy Document
The Operational Policy Document, which provides detailed guidance on the implementation of the Settlement Agreement, is available for download from the Ministry’s website here: www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/care-and-support-workers-pay-equity-settlement/pay-equity-settlement-information-providers
Updated Data Collection Tool
We have been alerted to a technical glitch in the Data Collection Tool that was sent out on Wednesday. We have now amended this, please use the updated version attached.
If you have already started filling out the earlier Data Collection Tool, please transfer your data to the updated version attached. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Thank you for the feedback we have received on the Data Collection Tool so far. We have received a number of questions that we are responding to as soon as we can.
If you have any questions, please contact our team on as soon as possible.
The data collection and submission process for providers consists of the following steps:
- Download the updated Data Collection Tool from www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/care-and-support-workers-pay-equity-settlement
- Review the Data Collection Tool in correspondence with the guidance document in Section 7. Please contact the Ministry by emailing if you have questions or require clarifications.
- Complete the Data Collection Tool using payroll reports for the eligible workforce covering the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017.
- Upload the Data Assessment Tool to the portal link: http://tinyurl.com/MoH-NZ-PE1
The Data Collection Tool must be uploaded by Wednesday 24th May. Providers will need to enter their contact information when they upload their completed Data Collection Tool.
- Providers should note that the central implementation team may contact you should there be any need to clarify your data submission.
Support is available
A central Ministry team is actively working with providers to help them with completing the Data Collection Tool. Where providers are unsure they will meet the 24 May deadline they need to flag this as soon as possible with the team at so they can proactively work with providers.
As questions are answered these will be updated in the Q&A section of this document and/or via the Ministry website www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/care-and-support-workers-pay-equity-settlement
Information sessions for HCSS providers
This week the Ministry held a series of regional information sessions for HCSS providers in Hamilton, Auckland, and Wellington and were attended by DHBs, peak-body representatives and providers. Unfortunately, due to fog, the Christchurch session was cancelled. Instead, we offered further teleconference sessions throughout the week. These sessions were optional, and are just one of several channels through which we are providing information, taking questions and listening to feedback.
The purpose of the information sessions was to support the guidance found in the Operational Policy Document and on the Ministry website to provide:
· A brief overview of the settlement: during the information sessions we built a shared understanding of the key elements of the Settlement Agreement, particularly eligibility and translation to new pay bands for the existing workforce.
· An overview of payment mechanisms and data collection requirements for HCSS providers.
· The presentations from these information sessions will be available for download from the Ministry’s website here from Monday 15 May: www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/care-and-support-workers-pay-equity-settlement/pay-equity-settlement-information-providers
If you were unable to attend the sessions held this week, please refer to the Operational Policy Document or email your questions about pay equity implementation to and someone from our team will respond to you as soon as possible.
Frequently asked questions
1. What about an employee’s other conditions of employment?
Generally, all other conditions of employment remain the same. However, service and qualification allowances will be extinguished because they have been replaced by the new qualifications-based pay structure. Weekend and night penal rates in employment agreements will remain but those that are calculated as a percentage of base pay will be converted to allowances.
- How do I know if certain workers and/or certain services are eligible?
A multi-step decision process needs to be used to assess eligibility of any particular worker:
1. Determine whether the service is covered by the Settlement Agreement; and
2. Test whether the worker is within scope of the Settlement Agreement.
3. Establish whether the service is funded by public funding not private.
We recommend you look at the eligibility information in the Settlement Agreement that can be downloaded from this webpage http://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/care-and-support-workers-pay-equity-settlement and section 3 of the Care and Support Workers (Pay Equity) Settlement operational policy document that can be downloaded from this webpage www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/care-and-support-workers-pay-equity-settlement/pay-equity-settlement-information-providers.
3. What types of work does the settlement not cover?
Settlement parties agreed that the settlement does not include behavioural support services, caregiver support, child development services, environmental support, funded family care, mental health services, and services arranged privately by clients. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Development and Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki have agreed in principle to enter into negotiations with unions and providers on the basis that vocational and disability workers they fund will be covered by terms consistent with the Settlement Agreement.
- What if some of my employees hold qualifications other than the NZQA levels 2, 3 or 4 New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing?
The qualification must be a Level, 2, 3 or 4 New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing from an NZQA-accredited provider. The Ministry is continuing to work with the Industry Training Organisation and NZQA to develop an equivalency list for care and support qualifications.
- Is Individualised Funding included?
Yes, care and support workers providing support under Individualised Funding or Enhanced Individualised Funding as employees (as care and support workers in qualifying services as defined in the Settlement Agreement) are eligible.
- Are Individualised Funding employers (i.e. hosts, providers) required to complete the Data Collection Tool?
For individualised funding and enhanced individualised funding the Ministry will be in direct contact with hosts and the DHBs in the week of 15 May. We will clarify the preferred payment method and the workforce data collection. All eligible workers will still need to be correctly assessed for eligibility, translated onto pay bands, and paid on these new rates from 1 July 2017.
- Some of my employees perform services that are in scope some of the time, and services that are out scope some of the time. How do I determine their accurate pay rate?
Some employees can be receiving more than one pay rate. Employers must pay the in scope services at the appropriate pay band when work is performed on these services. Out of scope services pay rates are a business decision for the provider. If these are at a separate rate, then this should be reflected with dual rates in a pay roll system.
- Are sleepover rates impacted by the pay equity settlement?
There have been a number of Government initiatives in recent years that have resulted in payments based on minimum wage rates, in circumstances where there had previously been no payments at all. These include funded family care, sleep-over payments and in-between travel payments. All of these initiatives have been confirmed and protected by legislation. Consideration was given to whether these payments should be included in the scope of the pay equity negotiations and the decision was made not to change the legislated arrangements.
- What is the “on-cost” percentage and how was it calculated?
21.7 per cent - the same for everyone. On-costs have been calculated on the basis of including all statutory leave requirements and public holiday loadings, two per cent for ACC levies and three per cent for the employer's KiwiSaver contribution, a total of 20.9 per cent on costs. In addition, an increase has been applied to allow for back-filling of two training days per employee per year, resulting in movement for standard on-costs from 20.9 per cent to 21.7 per cent.
- How is continuous service defined?
Current continuous service is considered to be service with the employee’s current employer which includes any service transferred under the Employment Relations Act 2000 (the Act).
In summary, the Act sets out the process for an employer to use where a business is sold, transferred or contracted out and requires employment agreements to contain ‘employee protection provisions’. Specific groups of employees, in certain situations, may transfer to the new employer on their existing terms and conditions, including having any transferred service recognised as continuous service.
Frequently asked questions can be found in employer factsheet which is on the Ministry website www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/care-and-support-workers-pay-equity-settlement.
Contact the pay equity implementation team
There is a dedicated pay equity implementation email address, , which you can send questions to at any time. Someone from our team will respond to you as soon as possible.
For more information visit health.govt.nz.
15 May 2017
Pay Equity Settlement Implementation 2