During the notification and bargaining phases employers with covered employees have the following obligations under the FPA Act:

1. Identify all covered employees
2. Provide all covered employees with individual written copies of the Unite Union statement and the MBIE form.
3. Provide Unite Union electronically with the contact details of all covered employees. Only employees who have completed the opt out form can be excluded, and must be allowed to opt in later if they choose.
4. Regularly provide contact details of new employees until the FPA is finalised
5. Allow visits to your workplace for direct discussions with covered employees about the FPA during paid work time. Provide for any health & safety or security requirements needed to access covered employees at work.
6. Allow covered employees up to 2 hours paid time off to attend notified FPA meetings and contact the organiser to make any arrangements required to maintain operations during the meetings.

The coverage of the Hospitality FPA includes almost all hospitality employees in the following sectors:

• Accommodation for visitors, such as hotels, motels and similar units. ANZSIC code: H440000″]
• Cafes, Restaurants, Bars, Taverns, Pubs and Takeaway Food Services (except industrial catering). ANZSIC codes: H451100, H451200, H452000, H453000
• Casino Operations. ANZSIC code: R920100
• Cinemas. ANZSIC code: J551300
• Labour Hire Companies. ANZSIC code N721200

Click here for a more detailed explanation of coverage within each sector and of the occupations covered.
Note that the coverage is formally defined in the document approving the initiation of bargaining, available on the MBIE website.

Once you have identified covered employees you need to provide them with copies of this statement from Unite Union and this form issued by the Chief Executive of MBIE setting out the obligations and rights of employers and employees.

The statement for covered employees needs to be provided individually in writing to each covered employee (a noticeboard is not enough) and it cannot be changed or amended.
It must be provided “As soon as possible, but no later than 30 working days after being advised of the initiation”

Between 20 and 30 working days after you notify employees, but as soon as practicable, you are required to provide covered employees contact details to Unite Union. Only employees who complete an opt out form can be excluded, and they may opt back in to have their contact details provided at any stage in the bargaining process.

You can email them in electronic form to employers@hospofpa.nz.

There will be an Excel spreadsheet template available soon on this page that you can use to ensure you provide all the required information and we hope to provide a secure online form within the next month to make it even easier to provide this information.

The contact details are required to be provided in electronic form and the minimum following information is required:

• the employee’s name:
• the employee’s job title:
• the site at which the employee works predominantly:
• if the employee has an email address at work that is not shared with other employees, that email address:
• if the employee does not have such an email address at work but has a telephone number at work, that telephone number:
• if the employee does not have a telephone number an email address at work but has provided a personal email address to the employer, that personal email address.

These contact details will only be used for the purposes of informing and consulting with employees about the Hospitality FPA. Having your contact details, workplace addresses and organisational details will help us keep track of employers who have met their obligations under the Act.

Providing contacts for new covered employees
Until the FPA is finalised you a required to follow the same process for new employees who may be covered; notifying them with the required forms within 30 days of beginning employment and providing their contact details to us after a further 20 working days.

Worksite Visits
The legislation (FPA 2022 Part 5, Subpart 2) allows for employee bargaining parties (such as Unite Union representatives) to talk to covered employees directly about the FPA bargaining during paid time at work (discussions must be of “reasonable” length). While no notice is required for these visits, regard must be had for normal business operations and any health and safety or security requirements. In hospitality the least disruptive process normally involves setting aside a table in the public area and sending out employees (singly or in small groups) for the discussions. This minimises disruption to busy work spaces and eliminates potential health and safety or security issues.

Paid Meetings
Separate to worksite visits, covered employees are entitled to attend 2 paid meetings of up to 2 hours each for the purposes of FPA bargaining (FPA 2022 Part 5, Subpart 1) . You will be notified at least 14 days before and arrangements can be made to enable your operations to continue during the meetings.

Forming the Bargaining Teams
Unite Union is also notifiying other unions with members who are covered employees so that a combined employee bargaining team can be formed. The employee bargaining team is required to represent all covered employees in the process – not just union members. Employers will also need to form a bargaining team. Because of the number involved the employer bargaining team is likely to made up of employer and industry associations, rather than individual employers. As with employees, the employee bargaining team must represent and consult with all covered employers, whether or not they are members of any association. MBIE will be able to provide information about how employers can have their say in the bargaining. Unite Union is not involved with the formation of the employer bargaining team – but we are always happy to listen to employer input on what a good outcome would look like.

Collective Bargaining and Unions
If you have not had any experience of collective bargaining you should know that Unite Union, like other unions, has been bargaining on behalf of employees with their employers for many years. While occasionally there are public disputes and strike action, these are the exception and most agreements get negotiated without any disruption or conflict. While FPAs are little different (e.g. strikes are not allowed), many of the other processes such as workplace visits and paid meetings are the same and take place every day across the country without any problems. The processes and obligations of all the parties involved are set down under the Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022. Anyone who breaches or incites, instigates, aids, or abets a breach of any legal obligations is subject to fines up to $20,000 for individuals and $40,000 for organisations (section 211 FPA 2022).