The government has decided to speed up the return of 90-day trials for all businesses, without public consultation. This decision was announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden. The plan was initially to refer the legislation to a select committee before Christmas, allowing MPs to debate and suggest changes after hearing from the public. However, the government will now pass the bill in full under urgency.
The government aims to achieve this faster timeline by adopting a Member’s Bill from ACT MP Todd Stephenson to reinstate the 90-day trials. Van Velden stated that using the Member’s Bill would allow the government to quickly provide certainty to businesses without the risk of a costly dismissal process.
The 90-day trials, which allow workers to be dismissed within 90 days of starting work without the employer providing a reason, were initially introduced by the previous National-led government. In 2017, the Labour party campaigned to abolish the law, but instead limited the scheme to businesses with 19 or fewer employees.
Research from 2016 found no evidence that the trials significantly increased overall hiring or that they increased the likelihood of hiring disadvantaged job seekers. The policy also didn’t seem to affect the likelihood of new hires staying long term or make workers less likely to move jobs. The main benefit of the policy was a decrease in dismissal costs for firms, while many employees faced increased job security uncertainty for three months after being hired.
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