28 March 2025
Adrian Cuison
[FYI request #30498 email]
Tēnā koe Adrian
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00083182
Thank you for your email of 21 March 2025, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the
following under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act):
I would like to make an OIA request on what are the reasons for the delays and the timeline
of remediation on holidays act breaches for Te Whatu Ora Auckland Metro former
employees.
Auckland metro current employees were already remediated on July and September 2023,
almost 2 years already. It was communicated that the time frame of payments for former
employees would be June 2024 then was moved to late 2024 then to early 2025.
Now it says to be confirmed but the unions state it would be mid 2025.
Response
Anyone that has worked for Health NZ, one of the former District Health Boards (DHBs),
HealthAl iance, New Zealand Health Partnerships, HealthSource or Northern Regional Al iance at
any time since 1 May 2010 may have been paid incorrectly for their leave. Health NZ is commit ed
to addressing these issues to ensure that current and former staff receive their correct leave
entitlements. Nationally, Health NZ has almost 90,000 current employees plus 130,000 former
employees covered by the Holidays Act remediation project, for the period of 1 May 2010 to the
present day.
You have requested information on when payments wil be completed for Te Whatu Ora Auckland
Metro former employees. As agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding with unions and the
Labour Inspectorate in 2020, we are paying current employees first, then former employees.
When Health NZ was established, it inherited 20 separate payrolls. Each payroll was set up
differently, with dif erent practices and local arrangements in place, with a majority no longer suited
for modern payroll requirements. The complexities of the Holidays Act, the size of the workforce,
the hours people work and the variety of the employment arrangements, as well as the state of the
payroll systems and processes, al make this a very challenging programme of work.
We aim to complete the Holidays Act remediation payments to most current employees by July
2025 and all wil be completed this year. The first payments to Auckland metro former employees
are expected to start after June 2025.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[email address].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may proactively
release a copy of this response on our website. Al requester data, including your name and
contact details, wil be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Fiona McCarthy
Interim Chief Human Resources Officer
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wel ington 6140, New Zealand