Sleepover updates
7 December 2011
Message to all staff – schedule of sleepover payments
As you will know, the sleepover case has been settled with an agreement between IDEA Services, the Service and Food Workers Union and the Government, and the passage of the Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Act 2011.
The Settlement Act provides the following:
- Payment of the minimum wage for sleepovers in stages
- Back pay for employees of IDEA Services and Timata Hou who carried out sleepovers between 1 July 2011 and 16 October 2011. This is known as the First Transitional period.
- Payment for employees of IDEA Services and Timata Hou who have done sleepovers and who filed a claim with the Employment Relations Authority before 5pm 2 September 2011. This is known as the Historical period, and covers the period from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2011.
Please note that the payment under the Settlement Act only applies to employees who had filed a claim with the Employment Relations Authority before 5pm on 2 September 2011.
We have commenced paying people for sleepovers at the new rate of $6.50 per hour, as required by the Act. This took effect from 17 October 2011.
We have been in discussions with the Ministry of Health regarding payment for the backpays.
I am pleased to advise that our discussions with the Ministry regarding the release of funds have progressed to the point that we are now able to confirm the payment details to staff. There are some points that are still in dispute, but we are continuing to work through these with the Ministry.
The schedule for the sleepover payments is shown below. We will be making payments in several steps. This is because there is a large schedule of payments to make involving several thousand people, and it is important that we take proper care over this. We also have to make sure that the normal pay processing and Christmas pays are not being disrupted.
We have also recently been advised by IRD that there is more information required from ex-staff before we can make payment to them. This means that payments to ex-staff will be a little later than payments to current staff. Requests for this additional information were sent out to the individuals concerned last week.
As a result of all of this, the payment schedule is very tight. However we felt that it was important to progress these payments as far as possible before Christmas.
Payments will be made overnight on the following dates.
- Thursday 8 December – First Transitional period, for current staff only
- Thursday 15 December – Historical period, for current staff and ex-staff who have provided full details prior to 12 December
- Thursday 22 December – First Transitional period and Historical period, for any ex-staff who have provided full details prior to 20 December
- Thursday 12 January – final mop-up payment. This will be immediately after the Christmas break. Where we haven’t received details from ex-staff regarding their bank account numbers and tax details, we will be sending cheques, and deducting tax at the non-declaration rate, as advised by the Inland Revenue Department.
(Payments go in overnight; the money will appear in bank accounts the day after the dates above)
Back Pay for Other Employees:
While the Act is very specific about limiting the back pay to only those employees who filed a claim, I have maintained throughout the negotiations that whatever deal is made with the Union would be available to all current employees who have performed sleepovers. It is important for the credibility of the organisation to ensure all staff are treated honestly and equitably, whether they filed a claim or not. I gave staff my assurance of this some months ago and we acknowledge the loyalty to the organisation and to the people we support that many of you have shown during the course of the sleepover case.
I therefore wish to confirm that we will go beyond the limitations of the Act, and will make a payment to all staff employed as at 2 September 2011 (both union and non-union) who did not file a claim with the Employment Relations Authority. While not all organisations will be in a position to do this for their employees, to extend the coverage respects the value of all staff to the organisation and is the proper business decision for us to make.
This means IDEA Services and Timata Hou staff employed as at 2 September 2011 will receive up to six years’ back pay for the historical period, on the same basis as those who filed with the Employment Relations Authority.
This payment is not part of any agreement with the Service and Food Workers Union and the Government, and is a decision I have taken with the endorsement of the IHC Board. It will not be funded by Government but instead IDEA Services and Timata Hou will pay 100% of this back pay cost.
The date of this payment will be Tuesday 31 January 2012. This has been scheduled to take place on this date because of the fact that it is being funded by the organisation and we need to borrow to meet all of our commitments under this sleepover settlement. The calculations and final amounts have been prepared and have been fully audited. Individuals will be contacted in the near future with further details. Any payments made will of course be subject to the usual taxation and contribution payments, e.g. Kiwisaver.
Thank you all for your hard work and dedication and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
Ralph Jones
Chief Executive
IDEA Services Ltd / Timata Hou Ltd
29 November 2011
Sleepover update: We know that staff are interested in progress with sleepover payments. IHC has not yet received the backpay funds from the Ministry of Health. We invoiced the Ministry last week and are confident of receiving the funds in time to pay staff on the dates previously agreed. If there are any changes to these dates, we’ll let you know.
25 November 2011
Sleepover case: FAQs
The sleepover case has been resolved with an agreement between IDEA Services, the Service and Food Workers Union and the Government.
Here are answers to questions about the new law, back pay and sleepover rates.
The Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Act was passed on 17 October 2011.
The law has two main parts:
- Payment of the minimum wage for sleepovers in stages.
- Back pay of employees of IDEA Services and Timata Hou who have done sleepovers and who filed a claim with the Employment Relations Authority before 5pm 2 September 2011.|
What will IDEA Services and Timata Hou residential staff now get paid for sleepover time?
The law allows for the minimum wage to be paid in four stages:
Stage 1: From 1 July 2011
$6.50 an hour for a nine hour sleepover
This will be a back pay and will be paid no later than 17 December
Stage 2: From 17 October 2011
$6.50* an hour for the actual time of the sleepover period
This is the reason why we have had to change the time sheets
Stage 3: From 1 July 2012
$9.75* an hour for the actual time of the sleepover period
Stage 4: From 25 December 2012
$13* an hour for the actual time of the sleepover period
*If the Government changes the minimum wage this amount will also change.
Under the new law, who is entitled to a sleepovers back pay for dates before 1 July 2011?
- All employees who filed a claim with the Employment Relations Authority before 5pm Friday 2 September 2011. The law does not provide for payment to be made to anyone else.
- This payment will be made within two months of the new law being passed.
- The Government is funding 50% of the cost of the agreed back pay, and IHC is paying the remaining 50%.
- We will need to borrow money to pay this back pay.
- Any payments made will be subject to the usual taxation and contribution payments, e.g. Kiwisaver.
Will IDEA Services and Timata Hou go beyond what is provided for under the law?
- Yes – the Chief Executive has previously advised that current employees who performed sleepovers will be treated equitably. A settlement will be paid to all current staff who do sleepovers and this includes staff (both union and non-union) who did not file a claim with the Employment Relations Authority.
- This means IDEA Services and Timata Hou staff employed as at 2 September 2011 will receive up to six years’ back pay on the same basis as those who filed with the Employment Relations Authority. The date of payment for this is still to be decided and staff will be told as soon as possible.
- The people that qualify for this are known along with the amounts that will be paid to them. We will provide details to these people – this will take time and we ask you to be patient.
- The Government is not paying for any of the back pay costs for people who haven’t filed with the Employment Relations Authority. IDEA Services and Timata Hou will pay 100% of this back pay cost.
- To be clear on this, only people who have filed a claim with the Employment Relations Authority before 5pm on 2 September 2011 will be eligible for back pay in terms of the new law. IDEA Services and Timata Hou will go beyond this and make a back pay to current staff as at 2 September 2011.
What about statutory management?
The appointment of a statutory manager in October 2010 ensured that Timata Hou and IDEA Services could continue trading while the sleepover claim was being heard by the Courts. This allowed services to carry on regardless of the insolvency position caused by the need for IDEA Services and Timata Hou to pay $176 million in back pay. The assets of the companies were insufficient to cover this debt.
Now that an agreement has been reached, IDEA Services and Timata Hou have applied to have the statutory management ended.
What about IHC’s charitable activities?
The sleepover action does not affect IHC and its charitable activities. IHC properties (Accessible Properties) and IHC Programmes have continued work as usual, along with the local membership associations.
20 October 2011
The Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Act 2011 has now been assented to. It became law on 17 October 2011.
13 October 2011
We understand that people are very keen to get more information on the implementation of the Sleepover Act. When the Governor General gives his Royal Assent to the Act it then becomes law. At that stage we will know exactly what dates payments are due. It is expected that the Governor General will give his assent later this week.
Meanwhile, a lot of planning and preparation is taking place. Once we have all of the information we will send it out to all staff via the internal newsletter, included.
7 October 2011
Media release from Minister of Health: Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill passed
Health Minister Tony Ryall has welcomed Parliament’s unanimous support for the Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill, passed today under urgency.
“This Bill resolves a dispute that dates from 2007 and sets in place a responsible and affordable framework for employers and employees in the health and disability sector,” Mr Ryall says.
“And it ensures that some of the most vulnerable people continue to receive quality care in the community, while addressing the recent decision made by the Court of Appeal and the Employment Court in relation Idea Services Limited V Phillip William Dickson.”
The Government is committing $27.5m to assist Crown funded employers in the health and disability sector to settle valid back wage claims and up to $90m over three years to support employers phase in the minimum wage for employees who work sleepovers.
The legislation was passed with amendments that will improve the operation of the Bill unanimously recommended by the Health Select Committee.
Media contact: Jackie Maher 04 817 9788 or 021 243 7803
To read the Bill and related documents go to Parliament’s website
3 October 2011
The following organisations may provide useful information about budgeting and legal matters
- Citizens’ advice bureau
- Federation or Family Budgeting Services
- 0508 BUDGETLINE (0508 283 438)
- www.sorted.org.nz
30 September 2011
You can read the Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill online. It has been introduced into Parliament and is going through the Select Committee stage.
Click here to read the Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill
27 September 2011
The Sleepover Wages (Settlement) Bill was introduced last night. It will now go to the Health Select Committee. Here are IHC’s and the Minister of Health’s media releases.
Click here to read the IHC media release
Click here to read the Minister of Health’s media release.
20 September 2011
I’m very pleased that at last we have a resolution to the sleepover issue. It has been going on for years, and to have agreement with the union and with government is a great achievement.
I know you will want to know exactly what this means for you. However, we need to do more work on this before we can make any announcements as to who is able to make a claim.
We will update this website when we have new information. If you fill out the Subscribe to updates form (top right of the screen) with your email then you will receive an email when new information is added.
I will provide more information as soon as I can. This could happen sooner than later as there are indications that the legislative changes could happen quickly.
What about the Supreme Court hearing?
The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the sleepover case (Phil Dickson/IDEA Services) on Tuesday 13 September. This has been adjourned to allow the parties to work out the practicalities of the negotiations and to allow the Government to put in place legislation. Potentially the matter could still go back there.
Where can I get more information?
The best way is to register to receive updates when we put them on this website. If you are a member of the Service and Food Workers Union you may like to make contact with them regarding this matter.
More information will be posted on this website as soon as possible.
Ralph Jones
Chief Executive
The phone number for the Service and Food Workers Union is 0800 864 661
Click here to read the Minister of Health’s media release.
Click here to read IHC’s 2011 media releases about sleepovers.
IDEA Service provides a range of services to nearly 6000 people with intellectual disability to help them lead lives in the community. Services include accommodation, day services, supported employment, foster care, contract board and home support.
IDEA Services has around 6000 staff and is funded primarily by government. It is a service delivery arm of IHC NZ Inc. Programmes and staff funded by donations are not affected by the sleepover issue or this settlement.
