“I think a lot of focus has been on the extension of the 90 day trial, but there’s actually quite a few changes coming through and we’re very happy with them,” says David Rose, Federated Farmers employment spokesperson.

“We’ve noted there seems to be a strong perception amongst our members of a bias against employers in personal grievance claims so it was good to see this addressed in the reforms.

“We told Government, in our submission to the Review of Personal Grievances, earlier this year that the emphasis needs to be on substance rather than process and we’re glad Government has listened. To do this, the law of ‘test of justifications’ will be changed so that small irregularities in process are given less emphasis than the actual substance of the claim.

“With regard to the Holidays Act, we are also glad to see that Government has left open the option for employees to cash in their annual leave, should they wish to do this. We think this is a good decision and it will provide flexibility that will be mutually beneficial to both the employer and employee.

“The changes will also allow employers and employees to agree to transfer a public holiday day, listed in the Holidays Act, to another day. Federated Farmers fully supports this change.

“Federated Farmers thinks this policy is a good idea, so long as both the employer and the employee agree to transfer the day

“Farming is a 365 day a year operation and both changes under the Holidays Act will ensure that farmers and their employees have more flexibility when allocating labour hours on-farm,” Mr Rose concluded.