EMA Northern & Central are foundation members of and the major contributors to: Business NZ Exclusive EMA news, advice, learning and networking Issue 11 + December + 2004 In this issue: Tax anti-avoidance discussion Exclusive MBA scholarships offer China trade venture coming Motivate 2K5 Going Global! The List Also inside: @ LARGE your learning guide HOW MUCH DID YOUR PAY GO UP THIS YEAR? HOW MUCH DID YOUR PAY GO UP THIS YEAR? In this issue: New public holiday entitlements Employing casual staff gets tougher New employment rules New public holiday entitlements Employing casual staff gets tougher New employment rules O u r v is i o n . Y o u r s u c c e s s .
Transcript
EMA Northern & Central are foundation members of and the major contributors to: Business NZ
Exclusive EMA news, advice, learning and networking Issue 11 + December + 2004
In this issue:Tax anti-avoidance discussion
Exclusive MBA scholarships offer
China trade venture coming
Motivate 2K5
Going Global!
The List
Also inside:
@ LARGEyour learning guide
HOW MUCH DID YOUR PAYGO UP THIS YEAR?
HOW MUCH DID YOUR PAYGO UP THIS YEAR?
In this issue:
New public holiday entitlementsEmploying casual staff gets tougher
New employment rulesNew public holiday entitlementsEmploying casual staff gets tougher
New employment rules
Our vision. Your success.
Our Vision. Your Success PA G E 1
FEATURES
A D V O C A C Y
A D V I C E
L E A R N I N G
N E W S
How much did your pay rise?Pay went up an average of 3.5% last year. Did yours?Business NZ President re-electedExclusive MBA scholarships offer to EMA members China trade venture prospected
Do it, with responsiblityPaul Winter asks why tribal politics can submerge common sense.Unplugging the skills bottleneckAlasdair Thompson discusses the range of programmes needing expansion.
Your self assessment check list for workplace hazardsScore yourself against best practice.New employment rules commenceFrom now on all employment agreements must include a new provision.Your Christmas public holiday guideVictory for film industry practiceRichard Searle celebrates the Court of Appeal ruling.Fixed term agreements tightenDefining fixed terms of employment just got harder.Tax anti-avoidance up for discussionEMA’s Ernest & Young Tax TipsCashflow funding expedites growth
Work hard. Play harder!Teamathon Challenge coming!Holiday house keeping for your PC’s.Keeping your networks secure.New technology facilitates expansion:Case study - The Hansen ERP implementationGoing GlobalThe presentation line upMotivate 2K570% of your staff are less motivated than they used to be.
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CONTENTSEMABU SINESS
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EMA NORTHERN
Chief Executive Alasdair Thompson
Advocacy Manager Bruce Goldsworthy
Manager, Employment Advice Peter Tritt
Manager EMA Learning George Gerard
Waikato Alan Fursdon 07 839 0806
Bay of Plenty Kim Stretton 07 577 9664
159 Khyber Pass Rd, Grafton, Private Bag 92066 Auckland
Two major bottlenecks holding backbetter business growth are first, how canwe develop the skill levels of our peoplemore rapidly, and second, how do wedecongest our creaking infrastructure.
Here I’m going to talk only aboutskills. In 2002 a Labour Dept Surveyfound 39% of firms said the shortageof labour skills was holding back theirexpansion; 42% of small firms said theyneeded skilled people or their growthwould be stunted, and since then thesituation has got worse.Unemployment is down to 3.8%, alevel not seen for 17 years;while theDepartment of Labour’s Job VacancyMonitor recorded a 13% increase injob vacancies in the year to September2004. It’s a great problem to have! But low unemployment on its own isnot an adequate indicator of growthperformance.We need to overtakeAustralia’s rate of growth.Australians’average weekly pay before tax is about$280 more than ours. If we are toattract skilled people here, and keepNew Zealand an attractive place forour people to live and work,we needto lift our growth rate further.Or seeour young, bright and skilled peoplegoing offshore to be paid more money.Skills development should not bereactive. The return on investment inskills development is very positive.Research in South Australia in 2001showed staff with formal training canbe up to 230% more productive thantheir untrained colleagues doing thesame job.In 2003 a Business New Zealandsurvey found 94% of firms agreed thattraining and skills development had apositive impact on productivity andstaff motivation. 77% agreed traininghas a positive effect on profitability.Benefits include:■ Higher productivity■ People with more skills are more
innovative, work better with newtechnology and work practices.
■ Improved customer service.■ Less rework, wasted time and
materials and fewer mistakes andaccidents.
■ Taking on new responsibilities thatreduce skill shortages.
■ Increased morale with fewer stafftaking time off.
Skills shortages may be with us for thelong haul.And we are ageing, andbecoming more culturally andethnically diverse.■ 37% of our working population is
over 40 years of age■ 22% of our working age
population were born overseas ■ 22% of all our people under 20 are
Maori, and ■ 20% of us under 20 are of Pacific
Island background.It seems plain that employers who canmake use of cultural diversity willhave a greater pool of talent to drawupon.As well, we need to attract womenback to work after they have begun afamily.To do this, working hours - forthem and for older people, should bemade far more flexible.Varying hoursof work will also spread the load onour roads and other infrastructure.EMA is looking for ways to improvebusiness relationships between schoolsand industry.We applaud businessesthat have made it part of their businessto form partnerships with schools intheir neighbourhood.The relationship between companiesand schools could be strengthenedthrough:■ School based apprenticeships■ Manufacturing career pathways■ Adopt-a-school programme■ Try-a-trade programme■ Teacher release to industry
programmes and vice versaBut what can be done to meet theimmediate skill shortage challenge?The following are far from exhausted.
ImmigrationWe applaud the recent changes topush people with skills higher up the
queue of those who want to migratehere.The skilled and business categorynow accounts for 60% of newmigrants residence approvals.Immigrants are valuable.They:■ bring new skills, new ways of
doing things,■ enhance professional and
entrepreneurial activity, and■ add spice to a workplaceBut many employers appear reluctantto take them on.Economic consultants BERL foundin 1998 immigrants contributedmore in taxes than they consumed intax funded services. On an ageadjusted per capita basis, eachmigrant between 18 and 64 years onaverage contributed over $7500 inincome tax compared with $7600for the corresponding New Zealandborn population.They alsoaccounted for about $7400 ofgovernment services expenditurecompared to $8,200 for NewZealand born individuals. (IronicallyKiwis living across the Tasman arethe wealthiest group of non-Australian born people - better offthan Australians themselves!)But net immigration is declining, toaround 10,000 people a year, wellbelow the 42,500 in the June 2003year.New Zealand needs an activeimmigration campaign in targetedoverseas markets.The ‘Straight to Work’ programmefunded through WINZ to trainunemployed people into work isanother postive measure.The extra$8.9 million to fund 1000 moremodern apprenticeships announcedin October was very welcome - thetotal number of apprentices by nextJune is expected to be 8500.What business needs to do now istarget the people to take on asapprentices, thereby creating agreater demand, and obligingGovernment to unzip its bulgingvaults to help fund them as well.
PA G E 2 EMA Business Plus Magazine - Exclusive EMA news, advice, learning and networking Our Vision. Your Success
ADVICEN E W SEMABUSINESS A D V O C A C Y
PA G E 3
A D V I C E EMABUSINESSA D V O C A C YBy Paul Winter, CEO of EMA Central
Unplugging the skills bottleneckby Alasdair Thompson, CEO EMA Northern
Nike became famous for their tagline ‘Just Do It’.We all aspire toimprove our lot in life, individually,and as families, and communities,locally and nationally. Sometimes weall dream too that lady luck mightsmile on our aspirations thoughmost of us are totally aware wecreate most of own ‘luck’.
We know too we can achieve betteroutcomes overall through strategiesthat engagethe greatestnumber ofpeople movingin unison inthe samegeneral, agreeddirection.Yet when itcomes toimproving ourlot as localcommunitiesor nationally,how to get themaximumbenefit fromgroup actiontends to be forgotten.We revert totribal politics.We act primitively when fightingfor a 51% control to justifyimposing the will of the slightmajority on the 49% minority.What is it that stops our localcommunities and the nationseeking the right balance ofincentives and penalties that wouldencourage responsible andaccountable choices by the greatestnumber of individuals and groups?Community issues calling out forimmediate action seem only to beaddressed if they fit with the rulingmajority’s ideas and plans.Tribalpolitics fosters this type of win/losementality. Each political tribe actsas though it can only win bybringing discredit and loss of face
to the other tribe.Consider tribal politics in thecontext of improving our economicperformance, and the environment.The immediate focus is on a winfor the tribe rather than on howthe community can negotiateoptions for the longer term thatwill deliver economic and environ-mental good and for the good ofall.The recent Allen Report makes aninteresting case. It identified thatGovernment could borrow the
funds needed to tackle a cluster ofmajor roading projects with theeconomic pay off from the fundsinvested repaid in 10 years fromextra tax the Government wouldtake from the resulting increasedeconomic activity.The number ofdeaths and accidents on the roadswould also be reduced.Whycouldn’t the Government respondimmediately by saying if theanalysis is backed up by Treasury, itwould be willing to borrow themoney tomorrow and get on withit? Tribal values outweighed this.Theyfavoured old school thinking thatmore investment in roads must be atthe expense of better investment inhospitals and schools.Instead of action, in regions like
Wellington, more spending is goinginto more studies to give theappearance of action.Another form of destructive tribalbehaviour in our communities is theuse of a broad political majority tomake decisions based on who shouldpay. Capacity to contribute is indeedan important consideration, but itshould not be at the expense ofachieving the right balance ofincentives and penalties, to maximiseour long term goals as a community.An example is a local council
dominated byrepresentatives ofhouseholdratepayers whichdecides to put agreater rate burdenon businessratepayers withoutreal understandingof the widereconomic impacts.Another example isthe recent decisionof Government toincrease the powerof unions (onbehalf of theiremployees) at a
time when the shortage of labourhad already moved market power toemployees.Thankfully there is hope thismadness might soon be challenged.The signs are that a moreenterprising culture is emerging inNew Zealand, and most politicalparties support the goal of liftingper capita growth.As employers and businesses it isdifficult to avoid tribal warfaregames: how should we share the‘national pavlova’ or, at yourenterprise level, how should thevalue created be shared? We need to resist fighting win/losegames at all levels, in negotiationsover collective agreements, as wellas with government. Let’s just geton and do it.
Do it, and think and plan too
‘The recent decision of Government
was to increase the power of unions
(on behalf of their employees) at a
time when the shortage of labour had
already moved market power to
employees.’
PA G E 5Our Vision. Your Success
ADVICEN E W SEMABUSINESS
Wages & salaries went up 3.5% for the yearended July 2004, less than last year’s 3.83%,according to the National Employers Wage& Salary Survey: Did yours better thisaverage?The survey is the country’s longestestablished and most comprehensivemeasure of remuneration trends.
Participation in it rose 14.2% to 691employers, covering 107,000 employees in211 positions across 19 job sectors. In thetables on these pages you may find theresults for a position like yours. Or go toema.co.nz/news for further details.This is the 10th year EMA Northern has runthe survey on behalf of EMA Central,
Canterbury Employers Chambers ofCommerce and the Otago-SouthlandEmployers Association.The increase of 3.5% is ahead of officialLabour Cost Index figures (2.2%) largelybecause the Employers Survey measuresfull time positions, and increases in pay, notdecreases. (42% of the Statistics NZ samplerecorded a zero pay increase for the Junequarter compared to the previous year.)A striking feature of this year’s survey is thatordinary employees pay went up (3.5%)more on average than middle (3.1%) orsenior management (3.2%). The figures indicate the labour market isworking well in these times of labour andskills shortages, said Alasdair Thompson,EMA Northern’s chief executive.“The figures show that laws such as theEmployment Relations Law Reform Act thatgive more power to employees are notneeded; they already have it.”78% of the sample’s respondents gave theiremployees pay increases of three per centor better.Another interesting figure emerging fromthe survey data is that the average payincrease expected during the current year
to June 30th, 2005 is 3.1%. Management’s expectations for payincreases in 2003 for the 2004 yearwere only slightly low at 3.38%compared to the outturn of 3.5%. Payfor senior managers was expected togo up 3.88% but reached just 3.2%; formiddle managers 3.41% wasexpected but they got just 3.1%; butfor other employees, wagepredictions were exceeded - 3.35%was expected but it rose 3.5%.This was a reversal of the previousyear when management tended toundershoot; they expected 3.38% butpaid out 3.86%.
How much did your pay go up this year?
PA G E 4 EMA Business Plus Magazine - Exclusive EMA news, advice, learning and networking
National Average n/a n/a 21,789 24,328 24205 24,107 25,683
Basic Remuneration ($)
Change Change
0 +6.5%
ACCOUNTS CLERK1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
No of Employees 325 253 208 222 212 240 232
National Average 28,071 29,698 29,359 35,311 37,691 38,567 39,865
Basic Remuneration ($)
Change Change
+2.3% +3.4%
Pay stakes winners, bigger winnersThe 2003-04 pay year was remarkablefor registering faster pay rises forskilled and general employees thantheir managers.Whereas the pay and otherremuneration of senior managers andsecond tier managers went up anaverage of 3.2% and 3.1% respec-tively, the pay for ordinary employeesrose 3.5%.For example, while the ordinary pay ofa chief executive of an organisationemploying 50 to 199 employees wentup an average of $9500 or 6.8% to$148,740, his/her bonuses fell $11,575.(The sample size was 70. See tablesfor more details).On the other hand, pay for truckdrivers climbed 14.8% to an averagenational base rate of $34,248 (sample=347); electricians pay went up 11.18%to an average base of $48,694(sample=156); and informationsystems manager rose just 1.1% to$82,325 (sample= 83). The averagepetrol mechanic was paid 3.78% moreon top of their 9.54% increase in theprevious year, to reach a base of$36,076 (sample=235), with unskilledwarehouse storepersons seeing ahefty 6.53% increase to get base payof $25,683 (sample = 453)Some vocations such as toolmakerssaw their national average correct afew points from their previous year’s20% + increase. The survey also gathers data onregional differences, and redundancyand overtime practices, along with theremuneration stats for upper, medianand lower quartile bands for mostjobs.Data should be considered in terms of
Among many changes to employeeholiday entitlements introduced by theHolidays Act 2003 was a revamp of therules relating to when Christmas andNew Year public holidays fall on oracross a weekend.
As it happens, these changes took effectin a year where Christmas and BoxingDay fall on a Saturday and Sundayrespectively, as do New Year’s Day andJanuary 2nd.Under the previous law,whenChristmas and Boxing Day fell on aSaturday or Sunday their observancewas moved to Monday and Tuesday.Observance of these public holidays
would change regardless of the circum-stances of the employee.The key difference under the new lawis that observance of public holidays(with their associated requirements fora paid day off, and time-and-a-half fortime spent working etc) is tied to theissue of whether Saturday or Sundaywould otherwise have been a workingday.This is the ‘relevant daily pay’ issuerearing up already to surprise andconfuse us.Section 45 of the Act says that whereChristmas Day,Boxing Day,New Year’sday,or 2nd of January falls on a
Saturday, and that day is not otherwise aworking day, the public holiday to beobserved moves to the followingMonday.The same applies if any ofthose days falls on a Sunday, exceptingthat the observed public holiday movesto the following Tuesday.If Saturday or Sunday is normally aworking day for that employee thenany of those four public holidays willbe observed on the day concerned.The change means there will be nonoticeable change for Monday toFriday workers; they still get theirChristmas and Boxing days on Mondayand Tuesday.Employees who only work onweekends will take their Christmas andBoxing days on the weekend.The Act
limits the number of public holidaysover the Christmas and New Yearperiod to four days,which means foremployees who ordinarily workSaturday through to Tuesday, theobservance of Christmas and BoxingDay will remain on Saturday andSunday.They have become entitled toat least time and a half, plus a paid dayoff in lieu for each day, depending onthe terms of their employmentagreements.The issue of where the public holidayfalls becomes more complicated wherecompanies set their rosters in advance
and employees vary the days on whichthey work. Some employees may arguethey habitually work Saturdays andSundays and therefore those are theirworking days.A clear statement by their employerswill help determine who gets a publicholiday and when.EMA’s position on these issues is, that ifan employee is rostered on inaccordance with their employmentagreement to work, then that is theirworking day. If they have not beenrostered on to work, then it is not aworking day for the purposes of thispart of the Holidays Act.Should an employee be required towork on their public holiday, they willbe entitled to payment at time and a
half, as well as a paid day off in lieu ofthe holiday.The accompanying chart may help youdetermine the day on which to observethe public holidays.
Christmas and New Year public holiday entitlements: Get ready to pay
PA G E 7Our Vision. Your Success
ADVICEA D V I C EEMABUSINESS
PA G E 6 EMA Business Plus Magazine - Exclusive EMA news, advice, learning and networking
ADVICE EMABUS INESS
Is Saturday normally a working day for you?
YES
Your Public Holidays:Christmas = Saturday 25th December
New Year = Saturday 1st January
Your Public Holidays:Christmas = Monday 27th December
New Year = Monday 3rd January
NO
Is Sunday normally a working day for you?
YES
Your Public Holidays:Boxing Day = Sunday 26th December
New Year Holiday = Sunday 2nd January
Your Public Holidays:Boxing Day = Tuesday 28th December
New Year Holiday = Tuesday 4th January
NO
To comply with the recentamendments to the EmploymentRelations Act employers must add anemployment protection provision to allnew agreements by December 1st,2004, and to all existing agreementsno later than December 1st, 2005.
The purpose of an employmentprotection provision is to provideprotection for employees whoseemployment would be affected by arestructuring of the organisation theywork for. A restructure includescontracting out part of the business,or selling, or transferring the businessto another person or organisation.
The provision section must include:■ a process that the employer will
follow when negotiating with anew employer about the restruc-turing of the business as it relatesto employees affected; and
■ the matters that the employer willnegotiate with the new employerconcerning the affected employees’terms and conditions ofemployment, including whetherthey would transfer to the newemployer on the same terms andconditions; and
■ the process to be followed at thetime of the restructuring to
determine what entitlements, ifany, are available for employeeswho do not transfer to the newemployer.
(A sample employment protection
provision is available to EMA members at
www.emadvice.co.nz )
As well as including an employmentprotection provision in allemployment agreements, the new lawalso makes protection available to aspecified category of “vulnerable”employees during a restructure.Vulnerable employees are those whoprovide caretaking, laundry servicesand orderly services in specifiedsectors, and all employees working forcleaning service businesses or foodcatering firms. Government canreview and add other types ofemployees to the list of vulnerableemployees at any time.In the event of a restructure, avulnerable employee may elect totransfer to the new employer on thesame terms and conditions ofemployment. If the new employermakes redundant those electing totransfer, they will be entitled toredundancy compensation. Ifredundancy compensation is not setby their employment agreement, theemployee must bargain with the newemployer for redundancyentitlements. If they cannot reach anagreement over the redundancy, theEmployment Relations Authority is
empowered to determine what theentitlement will be.In this scenario a restructure includesthe termination of a contract orarrangement if the work beingcarried out under it is to transfer toanother contractor, or done in-house.For example, if a business wasunhappy with their cleaningcontractors and decided to cancel itscontract with company “A” and gavethe contract to company “B”, theemployees from company “A” couldelect to transfer to company “B”.No, it’s not intended to be a farce.It means when a company wants tochange its suppliers, it may well endup with exactly the same cleanerswith a different employer anddifferent company uniform.Any redundancy that an employerdecides is necessary will need to begenuine in that the staff involved willneed to be genuinely superfluous tothe company’s requirements. A newemployer will be unable merely tonegotiate redundancy compensationand then hire new staff to fill thesame positions.The effect of these compulsoryredundancy provisions in force fromDecember 1st 2004 remain to beseen. However there is no doubt theyhave the potential to severely limit thefreedom of action of companies thatwant to change their cleaning andcatering arrangements.
New employment rules risk farce
If you have any doubts about how to
apply this part of the Holidays Act to
your own situation, please contact
Adviceline to discuss it.
Tel 09 367 0909 or 0800 800 362
NEXT STEPS
by Anne Shirley LLB (Hons) BA, AdviceLine consultant, EMA Northern
By Damon Young LLB, BA
The council of Business New Zealand re-elected
Terry Arnold as President following its Annual
General Meeting last month. Mr Arnold who is
Manager, Industry and Employment Affairs for
Air New Zealand, is also President of EMA
Northern.
Chief Executive of New Plymouth District Council
Rodger Kerr-Newell who is President of EMA
Central was re-elected Vice President of
Business NZ as was Stephen Collins who is
Chairman of Harcourts International Ltd based in
Canterbury.
Business NZ’s chief executive Phil O'Reilly
welcomed the continuing commitment of
business practitioners from many New Zealand
companies, in particular the regional represen-
tative strength from both the North and South
Islands.
Business NZ President re-elected
Terry Arnold
Summer flings rarely last forever. Loveis found and lost, and employers willtake on many “casual” staff over theholiday period that they have nointention of ever seeing againafterwards. However, legislative changeseffective as of December 1st could leaveemployment relationships lasting muchlonger than either party intended.
Casual employees are seen as theanswer to a number of problems facingemployers: uncertain workloads,seasonal demands, and varying times ofavailability.Traditionally, casuals are offered workon an “as and when required”basis.They are different from permanentemployees who have no fixed hours,because a casual’s employment actuallyends after each engagement. Afterworking for a period of days or weeks,as required, the casual finishes up, is paidholiday pay, and may or may not becalled upon again in the future.The Employment Relations Act 2000provides for employers and employeesto agree on employment for fixedterms. That is, instead of beingpresumed to be continuous, theemployment will end either on aspecific date, at the end of a specificproject, or upon the occurrence of aspecified event. At that time,neither aresignation nor a dismissal is required toend the employment relationship; itsimply expires.The Act puts tight controls on when a
fixed term employment agreement canbe validly created. There must be agenuine reason for it to end in thatway, and the reason provided must bebased on reasonable grounds. Forexample, arranging a three monthagreement because the job is pickingfruit and there will be no more fruit inthree months is reasonable.But havinga three month agreement because youare not sure if the person will get alongwith his colleagues, is not held to bereasonable.There is also a requirement that theemployee is to be advised of the reasonsfor the employment ending.The Court of Appeal held in Clarke vNorske Skog Tasman Ltd that therequirement to advise employees whytheir employment would come to anend as specified in their agreements was“not a mere technicality”. Failure tocomply with this part of the Act meantthat a fixed term could be ineffective.It meant that an employee would betreated as a permanent worker in allrespects, and the employer could notrely on the fixed term of the agreementto end the employment.The Employment RelationsAmendment Act (No 2), introducedfurther requirements. In particularwhere the employer and employeeagree to any such reason for an endto employment, the employee’semployment agreement must state inwriting the way in which theemployment will end, and thereasons for the employment endingthat way.
That is, even where the partiesclearly agree their employmentrelationship will be for a limitedtime, it will be deemed by law tobe permanent employment if thereasons for the fixed term havenot been put in writing.Employment Relations Authoritymember Marija Urlich has pointedout that all non-permanentemployment must comply withsection 66 of the ERA (and now itsamendments). Though casuals areoften thought of as a distinct class ofemployees, in the eyes of the lawthey are actually workers engaged ona series of (very short) fixed termcontracts. This means eachengagement of a casual must meetthe requirements of section 66 of theERA.After December 1st this also meansan employee must be advised of thegenuine reason, based on reasonablegrounds, for his or her shortengagement in writing. Failure toincorporate these reasons into anagreement would mean the employeris stuck with a permanent employeewho will probably be surplus torequirements.Employers should therefore be waryover the summer months when thenecessity to take on casual workersgrows. Their agreements should betailored to reflect the changesregarding fixed term agreements, oremployers could find they are leftwith more from summer thanmemories.
Rules for fixed term agreements tighten
PA G E 9Our Vision. Your Success
ADVICEA D V I C EEMABUSINESS
In a decision sure to have the LabourGovernment frantically drafting aThird Amendment Bill, the Court ofAppeal has decided, in effect, that theEmployment Relations Act does notapply to the New Zealand filmindustry.
In Three Foot Six Limited v Bryson amajority of the Court of Appealconcluded that the application ofthe Employment Relations Act tothe film industry would significantlyincrease costs and create uncertaintyin terms of payments like annual andsick leave, and the opportunity tobring personal grievances.Therefore,the Court concluded, Mr Brysonwas an independent contractorwhen engaged by Three Foot SixLimited; to find otherwise would be“to the detriment of the industry asa whole”.The decision of Justices WilliamYoung and O’Regan (JusticeMcGrath dissented) is a notablevictory.It is even more remarkable, giventhat, though unpopular with thiscountry’s film industry bosses, theEmployment Court decision waslegally sound.
The Court of Appeal decision maywell open opportunities for otherindustries to seek exemption fortheir workers from the Act.At the very least, employers may betempted to engage independentcontractors more readily given themajority’s finding that “a contractualarrangement intended to avoid …the Employment Relations Act isnot a sham merely because it ismotivated by lack of enthusiasm forbeing subject to personal grievanceprocedures”.Section 6(3)(b) of the EmploymentRelations Act 2000 says that astatement about the nature of therelationship between the parties isnot determinative (as it had beenunder the Employment ContractsAct). Mr Bryson was engagedpursuant to a “crew deal memo”which set out his terms andconditions.Although the document referred toMr Bryson as an independentcontractor, Judge Shaw found thedocument read more like anemployment agreement. Inaddition, the relationship was closerto that of employment: Mr Bryson’swork was closely controlled andmonitored, he was paid for downtime, not free to do private work,
Victory for film industry practice
PA G E 8 EMA Business Plus Magazine - Exclusive EMA news, advice, learning and networking
ADVICE EMABUS INESS By Richard Searle, LlB. EMA Central
BACKGROUND BRIEF
NEXT STEPS
In spite of the Court of Appeal’sdecision, it would not be wise to relysolely on a written contract forservices and industry practice to claiman independent contractor is not inreality an employee. The element ofcontrol exerted over the worker by theprincipal, the worker’s integration intothe organisation, and whether theworker is in business for him or herself,will still be important considerations.What the Bryson decision reinforces isthe need for a properly writtencontract for services to be in place
when engaging an independentcontractor - the original intention ofthe parties is still a crucial factor.Industries that regularly utiliseindependent contractors instead ofemployees would be wise to includesuch a claim in their contracts.It will be interesting to see which otherindustries seek to rely on the Brysondecision in defence when they engagecontractors instead of employingpeople. Another intriguing possibility iswhether this decision will be built uponby others seeking exemption from
unpopular requirements of the Act onthe basis of industry practice, such asunion membership.
EMA Central has produced aContractor Kit to assist organisationsthat wish to engage independentcontractors, or are concerned thedistinction between contractor andemployee has become blurred. Formore information contact RichardSearle at EMA Central on tel: 04 470 9932 email: [email protected]
By Ben Thomas, AdviceLine consultant. EMA Northern
worked regular hours, integral to thebusiness, underwent training,provided with some tools andequipment, and not in business forhimself.The Court of Appeal conceded therewas a considerable amount of controland integration in the case, though itwas normal for this industry. It wasalso insufficient to outweigh the twofeatures on which the Court ofAppeal placed significant weight: the
intention of the parties, and thenature of the industry.As to intention, the majority decidedthe parties had specifically addressedthe basis on which they werecontracting; it was invariable industrypractice; Mr Bryson was fully awareof the nature of the relationship hewas getting into.O’Regan JJ said a finding that MrBryson was an employee wouldinterfere with existing practice and
have “serious implications” for theindustry.Justice McGrath disagreed. Heconcluded too much emphasis wasbeing placed on the film industry’spractice of engaging contractors, andthat it was not open to the Court toreach a decision on one person’sapplication that has generalapplication across an industry. Sincehe was in the minority JusticeMcGrath’s opinion is not binding.
Mr Bryson was engaged by Three FootSix as a model technician working onthe Lord of the Rings films. When hisdepartment was downsized he lost hisjob and lodged a personal grievance. The Employment Relations Authorityexamined the issue of whether he wasan employee or a contractor, anddetermined he was a contractor giventhe clear intention of the parties, andthe nature of the industry. As acontractor, he was not entitled to bringa personal grievance.Mr Bryson successfully appealed to theEmployment Court. Judge Shawoverturned the decision of theAuthority. She found Mr Bryson to be anemployee. She held that therelationship was characterised by thesort of control and integration indicativeof a contract of service. Three Foot Six appealed to the Court ofAppeal, arguing strongly that theEmployment Court’s decision wouldharm New Zealand’s fledgling filmindustry just as it was achievinginternational prominence. The Court of Appeal agreed. ▼▼
▼▼
On November 16th Dr Cullen releasedthe report Towards consensus on thetaxation of investment income.
In July Dr Cullen appointed CraigStobo, former CEO of BT Funds inNew Zealand, to report on options forthe taxation of portfolio equityinvestment. Specifically excluded werean across-the-board capital gains tax,taxation of owner-occupied housing,and the basic treatment of debtinstruments under the financialarrangement accrual rules.Mr Stobo consulted widely amongstfunds managers, tax advisers, charteredaccountants and the New ZealandStock Exchange.The consensus viewwas that the implicit tax on capitalgains imposed on domestic investmentthrough collective investment vehicles(like unit trusts and superannuationfunds) needed to be removed. Thismeans no tax would be paid onvehicles with income allocated toinvestors and subject to a withholdingtax. Tax on capital gains, if any,wouldbe at the investor level and dependenton their individual tax status.For offshore portfolio equityinvestment,Mr Stobo recommendedan investment and savings tax (IST) beintroduced, to be levied according to arate applied to the opening value ofthose investments in a year.Possibilitiesinclude an inflation adjusted risk-freerate. There was no consensus inrelation to the taxation of offshoreportfolio investments; further consul-tation is required.If adopted, the proposals represent someof the most radical changes to the NewZealand tax system since theintroduction of the international taxregime in 1988.From here they will be discussedthrough Government’s formal taxpolicy process with a possibleannouncement as part of the 2005budget. Dr Cullen has referred to apossible implementation date of April1st, 2007.
DRAFT ON TAX ANTI-AVOIDANCE
IRD has issued an exposure draftINA0009: Interpretation of Sections BG1 and GB 1 of the Income Tax Act 2004.relating to tax avoidance.It’s 14 years since the IRD released itslast statement on how it applies thegeneral anti-avoidance provisions, andthere have been some significantjudicial developments since.This draft offering runs to 80 pages oftechnical analysis without a practicalexample in sight. It proposes six stepsfor considering the application ofsection BG 1.
Step 1 Determining an“arrangement” and its scopeThere is a good body of case law fordetermining what an “arrangement”is. The IRD notes:■ an arrangement requires two or
more parties to reach a “consensus”;■ knowledge of tax avoidance is
unnecessary■ an arrangement includes all steps
necessary to bring the arrangementinto effect; and
■ a part of an arrangement is not itselfan arrangement.
Step 2 Determining “TaxAvoidance”In order to commit an act of “taxavoidance”, a taxpayer must directly orindirectly alter the economicincidence of tax; defeat, evade or avoidliability to pay income tax; escape orminimise liability to income tax; ordefer that liability to a later date. Thequestion that arises is, what is the baseposition from which tax has beenaltered?
Step 3 Determining the purposeor effect of the ArrangementFor Step 3 to be satisfied, it isnecessary to be able to predicate thatthe arrangement was entered into in aparticular way so as to avoid tax. It isimportant to note that it is not adefence to this step, that thearrangements are capable of
explanation by reference to ordinarybusiness dealings.
Step 4 Determining a purpose oreffect more than merely incidentalThe exposure draft states that “a merelyincidental purpose or effect issomething which follows from or isnecessarily or concomitantly linked to,without any contrivance, some otherpurpose or effect”. That purpose oreffect is determined objectively, and notsubjectively in terms of motive. Thefocus is on the degree of economicreality and contrasting this with anyother artificiality, or contrivance,or therelative extent to which the transactionappears to exploit the statute in pursuitof the tax benefit.
Step 5 Judicial approachesIn Step 5 IRD has distilled variousjudicial approaches, such as the choiceprinciple and tax mitigation, into a testof whether the arrangement wouldfrustrate Parliament’s intention for theprovision, regime or tax Act as a whole.
Step 6 Adjustment of incomeunder Section GB 1If the first 5 steps are satisfied, then thearrangement will be void. The IRDCommissioner then has wide powers ofreconstruction of income, to beexercised if necessary.
The deadline for comment on the draft is 17December 2004. Copies of it are at:www.ird.govt.nz/promotion/draftitems.html
Changes to investment income tax coming
PA G E 1 0 EMA Business Plus Magazine - Exclusive EMA news, advice, learning and networking
ADVICE EMABUS INESS EMA’s TAX TIPS
You’ve cut the waste out of your own operations. Now, you face aneven tougher challenge: streamlining the processes you share withother companies to become superefficient.
Right now you can download a free copy of ‘The SuperefficientCompany’ by the Harvard Business Review.
This independent report will show you how to:• Optimise your supply chain• Get the most out of your suppliers, customers and employees• Follow the four steps to superefficiency
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The information contained in thisarticle should not be used without firstseeking advice from your regular taxand business advisor. Individualcircumstances can significantly alterthe consequences of the informationand advice provided.
Tel EMA to access E&Y tax advice09 367 0909 or 0800 800 362
PA G E 1 3Our Vision. Your Success
ADVICEA D V I C EEMABUSINESS
Employers are required to systemat-ically identify and regularly assesssignificant hazards in the workplace andto take all practicable steps to eliminate,isolate or minimise hazards in theworkplace under their control.Whatdo these terms mean?Eliminate?This means removing the source ofactual or potential harm (the hazard)entirely or modifying processes thatexclude harmful practices. Someexamples of how you might achievethis by:■ Not undertaking the hazardous task
(or discontinuing work alreadyunderway)
■ Replacing a toxic substance with anon-toxic substance
■ Replacing flammable materials withnon-flammable
■ Replacing a loose tread on a stairway■ Purchasing chemicals in smaller size
containers to eliminate decantinghazards
Isolate?Isolating a hazard means installing somesort of barrier between the person andthe hazard.This might be achieved by:■ Fencing off areas near a hazard
where people do not need to walk,so they are kept away from thehazard.
■ Enclosing a hazard so that it cannot
harm people.■ Placing a permanent guard around
dangerous moving machinery.■ Keeping people a safe distance from
the hazard, such as a seclusion zonefor a helicopter landing area.
■ Limiting the duration of exposureto the hazard to a safe level, forexample reduce the time people areexposed to noise or hazardoussubstances.
Minimise?Minimising the risk of harm byproviding training on the hazard, usingpersonal protective clothing andequipment, monitoring theindividual’s health or environmentalexposure. Examples of hazard minimi-sation include:■ Job sharing, swapping with
someone else for half a day toreduce any one person’s exposure,e.g. reduce exposure to high noiselevels of chain sawing by havingthem swap tasks with anotherworker for part of the day.
■ Programming some tasks for timeswhen few people are on site.
■ Using a powdered form of achemical rather than a liquid.
■ Using personal protective clothingand equipment e.g. steel cap boots,gloves, hard hat, respirator.
How well are you managing workplacehazards? (PtII)
PA G E 1 2 EMA Business Plus Magazine - Exclusive EMA news, advice, learning and networking
ADVICE EMABUS INESS By Daryll Le Clare, OH&S Consultant, EMA Central
BACKGROUND BRIEF
■ Do you have a record of workplace
hazards and how you are dealing
with them?
■ Are your employees actively involved
in hazard management on an ongoing
basis?
■ Have you and your staff identified
hazards relating to:
• Plant – eg, machinery is guarded,
regularly maintained.
• People – eg, lifting, carrying,
pulling or pushing loads.
• Locations/environment – eg,
housekeeping, ventilation and
extraction systems.
• Chemicals – eg, storage, labelling.
• Tasks – eg, working alone, driving
or away from base.
■ Have you and your staff decided
which hazards are significant and
which are of a lesser concern?
■ Have you and your staff worked out
how you will deal with hazards and
taken action?
■ Do you check regularly to see that
you have dealt with hazards
effectively?
■ Do you and your staff identify hazards
and adapt processes as new things,
equipment or people are brought into
the workplace?
■ Do you monitor the workplace and
staff for exposure to:
• Noise.
• Exposure and contact with
chemicals, lead and asbestos.
• Blood-borne and other body fluid
diseases and infections.
■ Do you tell contractors and visitors
about relevant hazards and how they
can keep safe?
■ Do you find out from contractors
what hazards they bring into your
workplace and how to keep your staff
and visitors safe?
■ Do you make sure that contractors
have the right knowledge and skills to
do the job safely
Rate if a ‘Yes’ response:5 = Excellent: Consistently exceeds HSE Act compliance
The objective of the Health and Safety inEmployment Act is defined as theprevention of harm to all persons at workand other persons in or in the vicinity of aplace of work. All employers are required by law to havean effective hazard management systemin place. While this is a key element forcomplying with the Act, the most vitalconsideration is ensuring effectivehazard management systems are inplace to protect the health and safety ofstaff, visitors and contractors. So how doyou measure up? How effective is yoursystem?In our November issue you rated youroverall Health & Safety performance. Inthis, the second in a series of articles tohelp you assess your compliance withthe HSE Act, you can rate your organi-sation’s management of hazards againstthe checklist on page 13. This shouldgive you a rough indication of how wellyou are doing. Obviously a “No” response to any itemmeans you do not meet the compliancecriteria, and you have some work to do to.Being able to answer “Yes” to each ofthese questions means you are well onthe path to meeting the requirements ofthe Act, but might still mean you do notcome up to scratch. ▼▼
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A low rating of 1 or 2 means you fall short of
complying with that aspect of the Act.
Remember too that the checklist is an indicator
of minimum compliance with the Act. If you are
serious about health and safety (as you should
be) you might like to assess yourself against
the ACC Workplace Safety Management
Practices Audit Standards which can be
downloaded from the ACC website (acc.co.nz).
If you want assistance please contact yourEMA Heath & Safety consultant, or myself on (06) 8433 419 [email protected]
Make your team the best it can be.
Kiwi Corporate Teamathon 2k5
The Corporate TeamaThon is the premier event forcompetitive business teams willing to improve their skills.Thismulti-sport event - with a twist will test body and mind! Teams will be put through unorthodox,but challenging,physical and mental activitiesat New Zealand's premiere training and fitness facility, theMillennium Institute of Sports and Health.• Show off your team's skills• Learn under the expert guidance of trainers who will show
you the best way to maximise your group's abilities • Take away practical team-building experience that can be
applied in your own workplaceThe titanic adventure slide and iceberg challengeScale 10 metre high inclines and traverse sheer drops in thistesting race against time.King of the mountainWork together to reach the top of this 8.5 metre pyramid -you'll need skilled pairs to excel at this task!
Video memory/pictionary/ brain teaserOther events include Loo Racing,Escape the Flood, theIronman Challenge,Big Ball Soccer.....
Proudly Sponsored by Southern Cross Health Care
We see this event as an opportunity for New Zealandbusinesses to grow from the coaching they’ll receive tofurther improve their success,” said Southern Cross Medicarespokesman Peter Tynan.“If we can help improve best practices of a business throughencouraging healthy lifestyles,we can reduce sick leave,increase productivity and improve retention of staff as well ashelp position a business as an employer of choice.”To learn more and enter:tel 0800 800 362
PA G E 1 5Our Vision. Your Success
ADVICEL E A R N I N GEMABUSINESS
EMA in association with the RoyalRoads University in Canada and theConcordia Institute of Business inAuckland is offering two scholarshipstowards completion of the Royal RoadsUniversity’s MBA.
The scholarships are valued at $12,000and $18,000 respectively based on theMBA programme fees of $30,000.Applicants will be required to meet thebalance of their course and livingexpenses.The Royal Roads MBA in ExecutiveManagement focuses on buildingstrategic skills business growth dependson,while providing a broadunderstanding of critical issues inmanagement leadership.An outcomesbased curricula builds skills in anacademic setting.The Executive Management degreecommencing in 2005 is deliveredentirely in New Zealand with optionsfor residencies in Victoria,British
Columbia,Canada.The University was founded by theBritish Columbia Government, and is amember of the Association ofUniversities and Colleges of Canada,the Association of CommonwealthUniversities, and Canadian VirtualUniversity.Royal Roads University is NZQAregistered. It incorporates the expertiseof industry, the public sector, andinstitutional partners in programmedevelopment and instructional deliveryto ensure the highest possible level ofrelevance and quality.The Royal Roads University iscommitted to improving continuouslythe teaching and learning exchange byproviding its faculty with ongoingprofessional development and asupportive learning environment.The result is an exciting learningexchange where both teachers andlearners continue to learn.Furtherinformation about Royal RoadsUniversity is available at:www.royalroads.ca
To be eligible for a scholarship,applicants must meet the entryrequirements set by the university andbe employed by a member of theEMA.
Use EMA to grow your business. Find out more today. Call 0800 800 362 or visit www.ema.co.nz>
Ready Steady Grow
EMPLOYERS & MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION.
Our Vis ion . Your Success .
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Work hard. Play harder.
Many firms operate their PCs behinda secure network firewall, or a firewallrouter. It might be time to review thespecifications and set up of thesedevices. In most cases, a firewall inconjunction with up to date viruschecking software is adequate to stopknown viruses.
For larger organisations withcomputers at multiple sites, or withthe complexity of providing access toexternal clients through passwordsecurity, a more complex securitysolution is required. For them itwould be advisable to bring in aNetwork security specialist.New viruses can exploit any softwarevulnerability. In response, softwareproviders regularly update theirproducts.Your next check shouldtherefore be to confirm your PCs arerunning the latest software versions.
Some applications automaticallycheck for updates, or you can registeron the software vendor’s website toreceive notification.Often viruses get onto a PC becauseusers invite them in - the “wolf insheep’s clothing” principle.This formof attack tries to deceive users intocarrying out an action that lets thevirus in.Why not ask all PC users inyour company to make a New Year’sResolution:■ Never again open emails from
unknown accounts! Neverdownload files from unknownsources!
■ Only ever add software to yourPC from reputable providers!
In the New Year your security policymight define what your computerusers can and cannot do, and whichinternet sites they can visit. Byadding a separate administrator log,you can ensure only approved userscan install new software.
Holiday housekeeping
PA G E 1 7Our Vision. Your Success
ADVICEL E A R N I N GEMABUSINESSBy Dudley Enoka,Telecom General Manager for Regions
Lately our computer networks havecome under increasing attacks from amultitude of viruses, worms, Trojansand other malicious code. Sinceaccess to the internet is now vital, it isimportant to ensure your PCs areprotected. The quiet holiday season isthe perfect opportunity to take stock ofnetwork security and carry out somesimple housekeeping.By outsourcing your network securityyou can receive cost-effective support,the latest updates to keep yourbusiness ahead of threats, and peaceof mind.
For more information on Telecom’s
SafeCom and Safewall managed
security services, contact a Telecom
Account Manager.
BACKGROUND BRIEF
New technology facilitates expansion
PA G E 1 9Our Vision. Your Success
ADVICET E C H N O LO G YEMABUSINESSCash flow funding expedites faster growth
PA G E 1 8 EMA Business Plus Magazine - Exclusive EMA news, advice, learning and networking
ADVICE EMABUS INESS
TP
L257
2
Hansen Products in Whangarei
manufactures 500 finished products
such as polythene pipe fittings,
threaded pipe fittings, and high flow
valves servicing agricultural,
horticultural, marine, engineering,
commercial and domestic markets.
The 34 person company exports 30%
of its $6.5 million sales, with
exclusive distributorships in eight
countries including Australia, the UK
and parts of Asia. Now Hansen has
its sights set on expansion in Canada
and US; it plans to double output over
the next two years. But before that
was realistic, the company needed
more efficient and integrated
manufacturing software.
Microsoft’s ERP system Axapta was
chosen and customised by
Adaptable Solutions to deliver tighter
production planning and scheduling,
business forecasting, and integration
with Hansen’s financial systems.
The case study highlights where to
identify benefits from modern
manufacturing software systems.
BACKGROUND BRIEFBefore Axapta was introduced, a nine-year-old financial package kept Hansenbusy with multiple planning andscheduling spreadsheets. Its accountingsolution creaked under the load.Thelack of integration with the company’sproduction and inventory required dataduplication, and re-keying. Inventorymanagement and forecasting was veryslow.
Hansen’s financial controller KathrynHanham recalls a lot of data had to beentered manually into various spread-sheets:“For example,our raw materialswere processed outside the mainsystem,which made planning verydifficult." The previous system couldn’thandle all export documentationrequirements, or multicurrency
requirements.The company evaluated sevenpotential applications.Commented Hanham:“As we startexpanding into the Canadian and USmarkets,we needed to have strongbusiness processes in place.We neededto be able to plan for a the long distri-bution time to Canada.”Axapta was chosen because “we likedthe fact it was an international productstill at the beginning of its life cycle, (in2003) and it gave us confidence thatMicrosoft would support it in the longterm.”“We also felt confident in theMicrosoft partner,Adaptable Solutions,and particularly Duncan Cox, itsManaging Director,who has extensiveexperience implementing IT systems
for manufacturers.”The impementation was a successlargely as a result of the strongcompany team effort and closepartnership with Adaptable Solutions,Hanham says.“The system took only a few minormodifications to meet our exact needs.For example,we can enter sales ordersusing either our product codes or ourcustomer's codes when they differ.Thesystem automatically prompts the userif a product is entered that requires splitquantities.”Axapta automatically advises customersby email when an order is received, andsends another when it is dispatched. Ittells them which carrier will delivertheir order,when it will arrive, andwhat products are back ordered.Managing Director of AdaptableSolutions,Duncan Cox said "Hansendefined their key business requirementsfrom the outset,with a clear vision forwhat they wanted to achieve.Axaptaprovided a good fit, particularly forproduction scheduling.”Within six months of the implemen-tation Hansen had gained operationalefficiencies.Kathryn Hanham said "ourfinancials,manufacturing, inventoryand forecasting are all captured, so weinstantly gained time savings by nothaving to duplicate information. Stafffreed up from keying in data can nowfocus on more important areas.“It allows us to manage our business.“We have the right materialsin the right place at the righttime.“The system details exactlywhat products we need tomanufacture and assemble andhighlights any potentialshortfalls.We can emailstatements to distributors andgenerate invoices at anytimeand currency conversionshappen automatically.Eventually,we'd likeeverything to be continuallyupdated in the one system, andeliminate data entry outsideit.”
Businesses fail for a variety of reasonsbut a surprisingly important one is thatmany find they are unable to keep upwith their own success.They fail becausethe cash to pay their suppliers runs outbefore their customers have paid them.
Outsourcing credit management is oneof the roles of factoring firms such asScottish Pacific, the longest establishedand with 70% of market share.New Zealand director of ScottishPacific,Dave Cooper points out that70% of New Zealand businesses failwith in three years, and 80% of thosefailures are because their credit runs out.He says that about 50% of businesseshave problems with managing their cashflow though many of them could use itto fund their expansion.Banks extend credit to businesses basedlargely on property such as real estatevalues, or possibly by borrowing against
large items of new capital plant.Factoring has a unique role – in effect itinvolves the purchasing of the credit thatyour business has extended to itscustomers. The net gain for yourbusiness is that the process acceleratesthe speed with which revenue fromyour sales becomes available;with fundsin hand earlier than the usual 90 days,you are able to re-invest in morecomponents or services to expand yourmarket.Vanessa Wilson of Pallet Supplies Ltd, amember company of EMA employing55 staff, is quick to identify theadvantages of increasing the velocity offunds.“Money makes the world go aroundand in business the faster you can makemoney go around the better it is foreveryone,” she said.“The move away from traditionalbanking to Scottish Pacific has beenexcellent for us as we are paidimmediately,which enables us to pay
our creditors promptly.This often resultsin early settlement discounts – a bigbenefit!“To our surprise, some of our owncustomers have approached ScottishPacific because through us they haveexperienced the benefits.”Cash flow financing agreements can becustomized to address diverse businessspecifications.They can range fromfunding up to 90% of the value ofinvoices raised,with the remaining 10%paid once bills are collected.You canretain your own debtor’s collectionsfunctions, or outsource that part of yourbusiness in total. Scottish Pacific doesyour preparation and mailing ofstatements and reminder notices,receipting,with telephone collectionswhen necessary done by professional,experienced credit control staff.Theservice can extend to Australia.More details are at www.cashtoday.co.nz
or tel 0508 227 435.
By Gilbert Peterson, EMA Northern
Our Vision. Your Success
ADVICEN E W SEMABUSINESSTHE LIST: N e w s . T i p s . I d e a s
With host:ProfessorMike Pratt. Saatchi &Saatchi’s Internationalbrand man, author ofeight books and 150academinc papers,
Dean of Business Studies,WaikatoUniversity.Consultant to world-widecorporations including Toyota,Misys,Proctor & Gamble, Saatchi & SaatchiNew York,Les Mills,NZ OlympicCommittee, and Meridian Energy.
BRANDING NEW ZEALAND!Julian Moore,NZ Trade & Enterprise■ Brand NZ:What is New Zealand
and why are our products sospecial?
■ How can your business leveragefrom Brand NZ?
GEARING UP FOR GOING GLOBALStefan Preston,CEO,BendonCase Study: launch and growth of ElleMacpherson Intimates in the UK.
KNOWING YOUR MARKETCraig Lieberman,34 Degrees: Foodswith Latitude,Denver,Colorado
RELATIONSHIPSPeter Smith,RPM International Tool
and Die■ How we turned a
tiny business into atool and diepowerhouse
■ The Athensstadium seatproject.
AGREEMENTS STRATEGYPhillip Mills, Les Mills InternationalErnst & Young’s New ZealandEntrepreneur of the Year.
FOCUS SESSIONS: LOGISTICS - Kim Schofield,DHL, the
world's leading express and logisticscompany with links to 220 countriesand territories.IP - Allan Bowie,A J ParkInternational Property Lawyers andConsultants, IP Licensing into China
NETWORKS - Paul Claridge,NZT&Eand Ross McConnell of KEA, theKiwi Expat Association.FUNDING - Jenny Morel,New ZealandNo 8 Ventures
PLUSPatrick McAteer,OktoborProducing cutting edge, design-drivencommercials and feature film effects.
Graeme Carrie, FRENZS10 million eggs airfreighted to the US!
Michael Hill, Jeweller, retail legend.To register, visit www.ema.co.nz/events,
or call 0800 800 362
PA G E 2 0 EMA Business Plus Magazine - Exclusive EMA news, advice, learning and networking
LEARNING EMABUS INE SS
horsepower
For Terms andConditions visit
horsepowerDrive your business ahead.Make sure you are a financial memberof EMA (Northern) on 30 June 2005and you could win a fantasticNissan 350Z Coupe, value $70,000.
For Terms and Conditions visit www.ema.co.nz
Inspire. Excite. ENERGISE! Areyou a passionate leader with theability to motivate your team? Thesuccess of your business rests onthe motivational skills of its leaders.Learn how to create a spark andinspire your team to be the best itcan be. Attend Motivate 2005. When: 27th January. Where: Stamford Plaza Hotel,Auckland.Book now by calling 0800 800 362.
Innovative HR: Fresh People is thebranch of the Fresh Network thatfocuses on innovation and newideas in HR, including values,leadership, creativity, work/lifebalance and workplace design. Thenext Fresh People breakfast willfocus on the important topic ofwork/life balance.When: 3rd February 2005 Where:Prime Café, PwC Tower, Auckland.Book now by calling 0800 800 362.
Take on the world and win: Togrow significantly, a company needsto be doing business in key marketsaround the world. This can be adifficult and daunting challenge. GoGlobal provides those willing to takeon this challenge, with access tothose who are winning, so they toocan learn how to succeed against allthe odds. Go Global 2005 is NewZealand’s premier event for
companies considering or activelydoing business globally. When: 25th February. Where: Aotea Centre, AucklandBook now by calling 0800 800 362.
The best your team can be:The NZ Corporate Team-a-thon,created by the Millennium Instituteof Sport & Health for EMA, is opento 20 teams from large corporates,who will face a variety of leadershipand team building challengesthroughout the day. Designed forteams of six, selected by theirorganisations as emerging leaders,prime movers and shakers and highperformance teams, the NZCorporate Team-a-thon 2005 putsyour best people to the test. When:11th March. Where: Millennium Institute ofSport & Health.Book now by calling 0800 800 362.
TIKANGA IN BUSINESS: Enhanceyour knowledge of cultural diversityin the workplace. This three hourprogramme is tailored to meet theneeds of your organisation. For more information, pleasecontact Rhonda Spence on 021664 321 or Cathy Phillips on 025913 963.
Pay less on a Southern CrossGroup Scheme: Got ten staff or
more? Then ask Southern Crossabout setting up a subsidised grouphealth insurance scheme. Not onlywill you pay at least 10-20% lessthan the private member rate on thenew Wellbeing plan – you will alsobe entitled to offers exclusive toEMA members. A group scheme isgreat for your staff – and it’s goodfor business. Research shows asubsidised Southern Cross healthinsurance scheme can reduceabsenteeism, improve productivityand promote staff retention*. * TNSResearch Findings 2004To find out more 0800 809 802and ask for a WellbeingBusiness information pack.
Protect your IP: It is vitallyimportant to protect your intellectualproperty. Discover how at the nextFresh Technology breakfast withSimon Rowell of James & Wells.When: 27th January. Where: Prime Café, PwC Tower.Auckland.
Go with Telecom: EMA’s deal withTelecom can help you grow yourbusiness. Telecom New Zealand hasa wide range of communicationssolutions to help you take care ofyour business. Solutions that havethe potential to significantlyincrease profitability, productivity,customer service and loyalty. Visit www.telecom.co.nz/emafor details.
Insure your most valuedpossession: Most of youremployees don’t have much insavings and they don’t have lifeinsurance. But you could help theirfamilies avoid a lot of worry if theywere to meet an untimely death.By making EMA Life available tothem you could become something ofa hero. EMA is endorsing this lifeinsurance alone because it’s either: • the lowest cost life insurance
available, or • a savings scheme while you insure
your life. It’s the lowest cost because nocommissions are paid. There are nosalespeople, and once you arecovered your premiums don’t go up. We want you to make thisopportunity available to all your staff.But first, please look at it yourself. Goto www.emalife.co.nz. Your businessmay want to insure a key person.Anyone can be a beneficiary. Pleaserecommend to your employees theyshould apply online. Visit www.emalife.co.nz
Send your young stars: Your youngstars will love you for sending themto Schmooze, NZ’s leading networkfor young professionals and businessexecutives. It will connect them to agrowing network of movers andshakers.For further information aboutupcoming events visitwww.schmooze.co.nz
China trade venture prospectedA trade exploration visit to China isproposed for EMA members partici-pations next year.
The NZ China Business ChamberPresident Jesse Nguy said the targetof the venture is expected to beShanghai and the Shuzhou provincenext year between March and May.Members of the NZCBC are
offering to act as trade facilitatorsthough more importantly, to arrangeappropriate introductions withinfluential people in China.Candidates for the visit are “peoplewho may want to purchase fromChina, as well as those wanting toexplore markets to sell there,” MrNguy said.“The cost, precise timing anditinerary for the visit will be firmedup once the level of interest is
Go Global - 25 February 2005 - Aotea Centre - Auckland
WithSean Thomas of Tima Consulting.Self Mastery & Motivation Mike Chunn, music executive• Finding a FocusGarry Wilson, Chief Executive, ACC, •Motivation from the top downSuzanne Hall, Living Nature• Staying creativeSimon Barnett, Tomorrow Today NZ Ltd,
trading as OBO. • Stimulate creativity and innovation Don Tricker, former Coach to the Black Sox. • Understanding and getting the best out ofpeople To register go to www.ema.co.nz/events ortel 0800 800 362
Getting, Staying & Being Motivated! Jan 27 Stamford Plaza
■ 70% of your employees are lessmotivated than they used to be.
■ 80% of your employees couldperform significantly better if theywanted to.
■ 50% of your employees only putenough effort into their work tokeep their job.
Is this the way you want itto be at your company?
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