We’ve used the expertise of Integrity1, Bell Gully and Employers and Manufacturers Association to review all affected employees’ leave records, payments, and earnings data back to 1 April 2012 and recalculated the back payments. This has been a very thorough process to make sure you’re getting what you’re entitled to.

Complexities generally arise in two areas of the Holidays Act:

1. Payment calculation rules for annual holidays.
2. The method of calculation for bereavement leave, alternative holidays, public holidays and sick leave.

Differences can arise with the method used to calculate the payment owing to an employee, as there are different ways of calculating what should be paid for a specific day/week of leave or holidays.

Ordinary weekly pay, average weekly earnings, relevant daily pay and average daily pay are the calculations that are used depending on the type of leave that is taken. If the incorrect method of calculation is used it can result in an overpayment or an underpayment to an employee.

Calculations are made difficult as the Act refers to annual holidays being paid in weeks, whilst other leave types (bereavement leave, alternative holidays, public holidays and sick leave) are paid in days.
Employers will often accrue, calculate and pay holidays and leave taken in hours to allow smaller quantities of time off to be taken by an employee (i.e. half day = 4 hours).

Calculation differences can also happen when employees receive commissions, additional allowances, bonuses, work regular overtime or their hours vary day-to-day or week-to-week.

There are several factors that determine who will be affected by the Holidays Act remediation. Some examples of these are:

• the employees’ work pattern (days and hours worked);
• whether overtime is worked;
• whether commissions or a bonus has been paid;
• when annual leave has been taken;
• length and period of service with Komatsu;

Due to the fluctuation of earnings history and leave patterns for our business, every case has been assessed individually; therefore, any payment will be different.

Komatsu will be writing to each current and former employee to advise of the money they are owed, if any. If you believe you are eligible and have not been contacted by 30 September 2020, please call 09 969 6721.

Komatsu acknowledges that all leave entitlement payments were made in good faith. We accept responsibility for all leave calculations and will not be seeking to recover  any overpayments from employees.

The recalculation files are incredibly complex and detailed, involving large quantities of data, therefore, the full breakdown will not be provided with the letter detailing the amount of your payment. Should you require this full breakdown of your calculations, we can provide this upon your request.

The remediation calculations have been performed with a week being in line with the pay period, which is Monday to Sunday.

A day is defined as your work pattern hours for the particular instance of leave. For example, if you had a day of sick leave on Thursday and your work pattern for a Thursday is six hours, then that's what constitutes a day for the calculation of the Relevant Daily Pay or Average Daily Pay for that instance of sick leave.

Under s131 of the Employment Relations Act, any remediation is subject to a six-year limitation period from the date on which Komatsu first became aware of the issue, which was April 2019.

We know these may seem like small amounts. However, we are legally obliged to ensure you receive any payment owing to you.

The Employment Relations Act requires Komatsu to go back six years from the date the problem was first identified. Komatsu first identified the potential problem in April 2019, so remediation will be calculated from 1 April 2012 up to 28 June 2020.

If you joined Komatsu after 1 April 2012, then your remediation period begins on the date you commenced employment with us.

If you are eligible for a payment, we’ll contact you via email or letter using the details we currently hold.

This letter will request specific documentation to be returned to us and a payment will be made to your nominated bank account after we have verified your details.

If you haven’t heard from us and believe you may have been affected, then please complete our online webform and we'll be in touch.

Holidays Act remediation enquiry webform

Earnings history and leave patterns are unique, so each employee's payments have been recalculated individually for the remediation period of 1 April 2012 to your last day of duty. As a result, each payment amount will be different.

No.

In this situation there are two possible scenarios:

1. You have left Komatsu and been employed back on the same employee number
2. You have left Komatsu and been employed back on a new employee number

In both scenarios, this has been taken into consideration and the recalculations have been based on each situation. If you are entitled, you will still only receive one payment amount, which will be a consolidation of the calculations

The remediation payments have been treated as an ‘extra pay’ for tax purposes. We encourage you to contact other relevant organisations, such as Inland Revenue, for advice about whether this payment affects any agreements you have with them about your current earnings, benefits, child support or any other matters.

Past employees will need to complete a Tax Code Declaration form (IR330) to ensure Komatsu has up-to-date details to enable the tax to be calculated accordingly. You can check the IRD website at www.ird.govt.nz to see if your total earnings, including your holiday back payments for this financial year, take you into a different tax bracket. You may also want to seek independent tax advice

The Inland Revenue website contains useful information on the tax treatment of lump sum payments such as an arrears payment. You can also contact Inland Revenue directly on 0800 227 774.

KiwiSaver deductions and contributions will be calculated as part of the remediation payment.

Student loan repayments will be calculated as part of the remediation payment.

Where a former employee is deceased, and would have been eligible for a payment, contact will be made through their known Executor of Estate. Once we’ve made contact, we’ll request the verification documents to be returned to us before a payment is made.

If you're aware of this information and you wish to advise us of the details, please contact us and we'll work through the appropriate process.

If you wish to donate your payment, you'll still need to follow the same process to claim your payment. Please note that payment can only be made to the person that payment relates to.

In line with section 6, 7 and 8 of the Unclaimed Monies Act 1971, where monies have not been claimed they will be passed onto the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).  This will happen after 6 years from July 2020, ie 2026.

We can only make payment into a New Zealand bank account; this nominated account does not have to be an account held in your name.

We're in the process of sending correspondence out to eligible former employees, and we understand that some people might want to verify the source as trustworthy before they respond.

If you receive an email from us and are unsure then call us on 09 969 6721.

If you have a query that hasn't been addressed through the information on these pages and the commonly asked questions above, you can contact us on 09 969 6721.