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    No Work - No Wage
    How the Community Wage will be implemented
    from The Jobs Letter No.77 / 27 April 1998

    PROGRAMME GOALS
    The Community Wage programme has the goal of maximising the number of job seekers taking part in community work, training or "other organised activity" in return for the income that they receive from the State.

    The theory is that by viewing and treating unemployed job seekers as much like members of the paid workforce as is practically possible, they will maintain their work skills and self esteem, and therefore, improve their chances of moving rapidly into permanent paid work.

    KEY FEATURES:
    "Community work is defined as unpaid work that is of benefit to the community or the environment, rather than to private businesses or individuals. For example, community work should not displace current or future paid workers. It should be work that benefits participants by developing or maintaining their self esteem, motivation, work disciplines and ethic. "

  • The Community Wage will be the income support payment a job seeker receives from the government. When a job seeker applies for income support, they will enter into a contract (Job Seeker Agreement) to actively seek paid work, and to be available for any appropriate organised activity which is provided. In order to receive the Community Wage, the job seeker must sign the contract, and fulfil the obligations contained in it.

  • Existing job seekers will not be required to sign a job seeker's agreement immediately, although new job seekers will do so. In the usual course of interviews, existing job seekers will be required to sign the new job seeker agreement.

  • The unemployment benefits the Community Wage applies to include the current Unemployment Benefit, Young Job Seekers Allowance, 55 Plus, the work-tested Independent Youth Benefit and Emergency Unemployment Benefits, and the Training Benefit.

  • Job seekers over 60 years of age can volunteer to participate in organised activities, but they will not be required to participate. Those aged over 55 will be treated the same as the over-60s after 6 months of registration.

  • Full-time work tested beneficiaries may be required to undertake community work of up to 20 hours per week. Part-time work tested beneficiaries may be required to undertake community work of up to 10 hours per week. These maximum hours have been designed to ensure job seekers have time for job search.

  • A community participation flat rate allowance of $21 a week will be paid to cover travelling costs and other costs. This is an increase on the existing Community Taskforce allowance. Also, up to another $20 is reimbursable, to assist job seekers who face particular extra "actual and reasonable" costs, above the $21 per week.

  • Community work is defined as unpaid work that is of benefit to the community or the environment, rather than to private businesses or individuals. For example, community work should not displace current or future paid workers. It should be work that benefits participants by developing or maintaining their self esteem, motivation, work disciplines and ethic. It should, as much as possible, resemble a paid work environment. However it should not reduce the incentives of individuals to move into paid work, and it should not be used when there are other options available to move a job seeker more quickly and cost effectively into work.

  • Job seekers will be matched to work and training by the front-line staff of the new integrated employment and welfare department. Officials say that the work chosen will be suitable to the job seeker and consistent with assisting them into paid work. In making a decision about suitable activities, the staff have to consider whether it is "fair and reasonable to require participation in a particular activity".

  • The Community Wage recipients have to seek prior formal approval by the Department if they are pursuing their own community work, training or organised activity ... or else they will not get the community wage. The community work or training has to fit within the Department's conditions and rules. The Regional Commissioners will have some influence on the choice of community work made available when they develop their strategies at the local level to reduce long-term unemployment.

  • The "Sponsors" are organisations, such as community organisations or work trusts who take on a job seeker to do Community Work. They will be provided with a handbook providing details of the Community Wage, its purpose and details. This will be available before implementation on October 1.

  • The handbook will include the important principle that sponsors treat job seekers as similarly as possible to the work situation. Financial sanctions ought to be seen as a final resort, following the exhaustion of more common paid work options for addressing unsatisfactory performance.

  • Sponsors that take on job seekers under the Community Work programme get the benefit of the work of a part-time employee whom they would not have been able to afford to pay. In return, they are required to contribute to projects by supervising participants, and providing necessary safety equipment and project materials.

  • When groups of workers of four or more are involved in a project, supervisor assistance can be applied for.

  • The government is keen to ensure that the scheme does not displace members of the paid work force and does not take away work from the private sector. Currently the New Zealand Employment Service ensures that Community Task Force programmes do not result in displacement through assessing the programmes prior to approval, in order to determine what the job is and who it is for. In the community wage programme, the sponsors are required to sign a contract stating that if it were not for the Community Task Force programme, the job would not be done.

  • Regional Employment Commissioners will be expected to develop additional strategies to ensure displacement does not occur. For example involving employer or contractor representatives on Regional Committees in the process of monitoring community work projects should help ensure displacement does not occur.

  • Job seekers receiving the Community Wage are covered through the ACC non-earners' account. Community Work sponsors are required to provide a safe workplace as specified by the Health and Safety in Employment Act, but they are not liable to pay ACC premiums for job seekers who participate in their Community Work projects.

  • The Community Wage is a State income support payment, so those receiving it do not get sick pay and holiday pay, even if they are participating in a work experience activity.

  • The Community Wage recipient doing community work is not in an employer/employee situation, so the Employment Contracts Act does not apply.

  • The maximum weekly hours (of up to 20 for full-time work tested community wage recipients, and up to 10 hours for part-time community wage recipients) have been designed to ensure job seekers have time for searching for a permanent job.

  • These hours have also been set to ensure that no job seeker will work for less than the minimum wage for the hours worked.

  • Job seekers will be encouraged to take up opportunities to do paid work. Therefore, job seekers and sponsors are free to arrange for additional paid hours to be worked, on top of any community work requirement.

  • Any additional paid hours will be treated as earned income, and will therefore be taxable, and may potentially result in Community Wage abatement. The additional hours will also be governed by an employer-employee relationship, unlike the hours of community work. Therefore, employment legislation (Employment Contracts Act, Holidays Act, Minimum Wage Act, ACC provisions) will be applicable.

  • The contracts with the sponsoring organisation will include a requirement for the provision of a reference for the job seekers at the end of their time with the sponsor, covering their attendance, attitude and other relevant employment related performance.

  • As an interim measure, the New Zealand Employment Service has expanded community work through the Community Taskforce programme during 1997/98. It is expected that approximately 10,000 job seekers will be participating in community work and approximately 9,000 in training, a total of 19,000 by the end of June 1998.

  • When the new integrated employment and welfare department starts operating, Regional Commissioners will determine the mix of programmes in their particular region, depending on the needs of the local labour market, and of individual job seekers. Job seekers will be involved in community work, training or other organised activities where it is considered that participation is appropriate.

  • There will be no change to the way that unemployed job seekers are classified as a result of these changes, so there will be no direct effect on the statistics of registered unemployed. People doing community work on the community wage, will remain in the unemployment statistics, but will be recorded as participating in community work.

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