CEO’s REPORT

Welcome to our July 2021 newsletter and I trust that you are keeping safe and well.

It has certainly been a few hectic months for the team at the NZSA, our members and industry as a whole.

Within this newsletter we provide some important information with regards to the inclusion of Security Officers on Schedule 1A of the Employment Relations Act as well as updates on other key issues such as Fair Pay Agreements, Covid-19 vaccinations, licensing for pubs, clubs and other licensed premises, and building consent applications for access control works.

Fair Pay Agreements
In April this year the Government announced the design of the Fair Pay Agreement (FPA) system. The design was informed by the Fair Pay Agreement Working Group and public consultation, as well as involvement from the NZCTU (representing unions) and Business New Zealand (representing employers and industry sectors). Current planning is that the Bill will be introduced in November of this year and that the first agreement negotiations will be initiated in early 2022.

Whilst the detail is yet to be fully announced, it is clear that Security workers will be one of the first sectors to be covered by a FPA and as such, bargaining will be required between Etu (being the union covering security workers) and employers (under co-ordination of the NZSA or an alternate industry body). Again, this will have a significant and far-reaching impact on those providers offering guarding, patrol and cash-in-transit services and it is important that members are kept well informed on developments.

We will provide on-going updates as more information becomes available. However, for more detailed background, please refer to our newsletter Important Employment Matters on our website.

Covid-19 vaccinations
It is apparent that the Government has back-tracked on earlier plans to prioritise the vaccination of essential service workers under a separate Group and vaccinations will be scheduled on the basis of:

Group 1 – Border and Managed Isolation and Quarantine Workers

Group 2 – High-risk frontline workers and people living in high-risk places

Group 3 – People who are at risk (over 65, underlying health issues, disabled, caring for a person with a disability, pregnant or an adult in a custodial setting)

Group 4 – Everyone aged 16 and over

We are aware that members are often finding this a difficult area from an employment perspective and offer the following guidance:

As a general rule, employers can encourage, but not force staff to receive Covid-19 vaccinations

Employers cannot engage or employ staff without Covid-19 Vaccination to work if:

• The work is in specific areas legally requiring Covid-19 vaccination (generally at the border or MIQ); or
• It is otherwise unsafe for that person to work due to the level of risk (under the Health and Safety at Work Act).

To assess what can/should be done:

First Stage: Work Location

• Where does the employee work?
• Does the Covid-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021 apply? (this lists who must be vaccinated to work)
• Workers at Managed Quarantine and Managed Isolation Facilities are unable to work at these sites unless vaccinated.

If this does not apply, move to next stage.

Second Stage: Role Risk Exposure

What are the risks applicable to the specific role?

• What is the likelihood of a worker being exposed to Covid-19 whilst performing the role; and
• What are the potential consequences of that exposure on others (e.g. community spread, vulnerable workers)

If the role involves regular contact with vulnerable people (as defined by the MoH), the consequences of passing the virus on to them could be significant, and so if there is a high likelihood that the person performing the role may be exposed to Covid-19, it is likely that the role needs to be performed by a vaccinated person.

Third Stage: Other Considerations

Take account of other factors. Good faith applies at all stages of the risk assessment. That requires open and responsive communication with the affected workers, and fair process. Any requirement to be vaccinated that is not related to health and safety will not be justified.

Care needs to be taken for instance where an employee’s own circumstances/health/beliefs mean they cannot receive the vaccination. In those cases options such as site or role relocation should be explored and balanced against the second stage risk assessment.

Licensing for pubs, clubs and other licensed premises
The PSPLA has recently provided further clarification around the licensing requirements for pubs, clubs and other licensed premises.

Section 11 of the Act states a person or entity is only required to hold a licence as a crowd controller if, for valuable consideration, they are carrying on the business of screening entry, keeping order, or removing any person from a place.

The fact that a business employs crowd controllers to screen entry and keep order does not in itself mean that a pub or club is carrying on the business of being a crowd controller and critically, where they are not charging another entity for the service (being valuable consideration), a licence is not required.

The exception to this would be where a pub or club is using their staff to provide crowd controller duties for other entities and charging for the service. This meets the definition of valuable consideration and the pub or club needs to hold a company licence under the Crowd Controller category.

For larger operations that have security departments and recruit and train crowd controllers for deployment at several of their own establishments, it may be arguable whether they are doing it for valuable consideration however it would be best practice for the business to hold a licence under the PSPPI Act.

From an individual licence holder perspective, all staff employed as crowd controllers responsible for screening entry, keeping order and removing a person from a place are required to hold a Certificate of Approval under the Crowd Controller category.

Building consent applications for access control works
This continues to be a contentious area with councils applying different interpretations and requirements however, the following guidelines were provided by Christchurch City Council with regards to the documentation they require/expect when assessing a building consent discretionary exemption application for proposed access control works:

• Plans clearly showing the locations of access-controlled doors.
• Specifications of the products being used including specific reference for emergency release and where a fire alarm interconnection is installed.
• A detailed statement outlining the contractor’s relevant experience in installing similar systems and their quality assurance and training measures.
• Confirmation that on completion the installer will issue a construction statement confirming compliance and indicating the emergency release and fire alarm interconnection. (The statement of compliance should reference NZBC C/AS2 (2019) paragraph 3.15.2 and 3.15.7).
• Confirmation that on completion the installer will provide as-built floor plans confirming the locations of installed access-controlled doors as per the approval.
• Confirmation that photographs of the door installations will be taken and provided to Council on completion.
• Confirmation that an IQP, separate from the individual installer, will provide a test and confirmation compliance following the installation.
• It could be reasonably assumed that simila documentation is required for a building consent application.

Please note that this list should not be considered as definitive however it may assist when seeking a consistent and common-sense approach from local councils.

Virtual Reality Security Training Platform
We are pleased to advise that a handful of providers are now signed up and using the platform for the delivery of their CoA training.

Initial feedback from learners and employers has been exceptional and all have commented on the benefit of experiencing real-life scenarios as part of the learning and the positive reinforcement of core skills such as risk assessment, wearing PPE and providing recorded incident reports.

For further information on the SkillsVR Security Training platform or to arrange a live or online demonstration, please contact Chris Thomas on 021 771173 or [email protected].

As always, we welcome all comments and feedback on NZSA or industry issues and activity.

Keep safe and well.

Gary Morrison

CEO

 

Employment Relations Act changes
Government has passed an Order in Council, effective 1 July 2021, that extends Part 6A of Schedule 1A of the Employment Relations Act 2000 to include Security Officers.

Effectively this now means that Security Officers, defined as property guards, crowd controllers, mobile security patrols, cash-in-transit officers and those who monitor premises on site, are given protections when their employment is impacted by restructuring that results in the contract for service shifting to another provider or taken in-house.

In these situations there is an obligation on the new party providing the service to offer employment to the incumbent employees on terms and conditions no less favourable than they currently enjoy. This includes the transfer of leave and service entitlements and also prevents subsequent restructuring such as reduced hours or payments.

In general, the new Order does not apply to restructuring situations where agreements were reached between companies before 1 July 2021.

The NZSA has documentation available to members to explain and enable the process for both outgoing and incoming service providers:

1.    NZSA Overview and Definition
2.    NZSA Member Guidance Part 6A
3.    NZSA Part 6A letter for Security Workers
4.   NZSA Part 6A letter for Customers
5.   Part 6A Exempt Employer Repealed letter
6a. NZSA recommended Employee Transfer Information template: – Costs Information
6b. NZSA recommended Employee Transfer Information template: – Individualised Employee Information
6c. NZSA notes to Employee Transfer Information templates

To obtain a copy of these documents please email [email protected].

 

NZSA Webinar now available to view

Employment Relations Act changes

Andre Reynolds provides insights on the impact of changes to the Employment Relations Act. The NZSA webinar discusses what it means to the security industry and what is required of employers to accommodate the change.

This is now available for viewing on our website:  NZSA webinar

If you are interested in contacting Andre about the Grow@ app for recruitment, as mentioned in the webinar, please see his details below:

Andre Reynolds – 021 285 5628, [email protected]

 

Law changes impacting employers

– an NZSA HR Advisory Service update

There have been a number of recent employment changes that will affect members:

– Employment Relations Act changes – security staff deemed vulnerable employees

– Sick Leave increases

– Bereavement Leave changes

– New public holiday – Matariki

– Covid-19 vaccinations

For further information please see the LivewireHR blog.

If you have any workplace questions, the NZSA HR Advisory service can assist.

Phone:     HR LIVE (0800 475 483)

Email:       [email protected]

 

NZ Security Awards

Christchurch Town Hall

20 August 2021

This year’s Awards ceremony will be held in Christchurch on Friday 20 August.

Nominations close 5pm Thursday 15 July.

The nomination process is online and simple to follow, however it is important that all key information is included. Please refer to the tip sheet for guidance:  NZ Security Awards_Nomination Information

You can submit your nominations and register for the event on the NZSA website.

 

Training and Professional Development SIG

Submitted by Andy Gollings

Chairperson & CEO Red Badge Group

The Security Training and Professional Development Special Interest Group is continuing to look at the needs of the industry, and to help ensure that we continue to have industry training that will shape the workforce of the future.

We have recognised the challenges of low awareness and professional recognition of much of our industry and that the industry needs to work together to address this.

It seems that we will all benefit from wider recognition of the range of opportunities within our industry that would see people targeting development within our industry into leadership roles, as well as pursuing careers in specialist roles such as Security Technician, Security Integrator, Risk Manager or Project Manager. We have traditionally spoken of our industry as a great pathway into the wider security sector of military, police or prison service. This still holds true however we should inspire our current workforce to develop a career within our industry thereby enhancing the awareness and capability of our own industry.

The NZSA have been doing some great work with the Ministry of Education Security Career Events through New Zealand schools and in the development of the Security Career Pathways website. The link to this website can be found here https://securitycareers.co.nz/

There is a lot of good information on the site. The NZSA would welcome feedback on the contents and would encourage you to share this and the opportunities within our sector with your workforce and your community.

Bailey Gaines, Operations Manager for the Red Security Division in Auckland, talking to students at Mangere High School

The NZSA and partner SkillsVR are also now using Virtual Reality technology to train and assess the COA Unit Standards, with the VR being able to provide a high standard of simulation of at risk situations, allowing trainees to feel how they might react in real life. The Skills Organisation have been working hard on the resources for an updated NZ Certificate in Security Level 3. This is planned to be available for use by the end of August. This is an exciting new development allowing online learning to a consistent standard anywhere in the country.

It has been reported that literacy and numeracy remains a challenge within our industry. This is nothing to be ashamed of, as it is a challenge faced across the NZ workforce. To not work towards overcoming or addressing this challenge would be a shame. To this end the special interest group is investigating the viability of a programme designed to support front line leadership understand and work to support the literacy challenges of those within their team. I feel that this is an exciting development as there is nothing more vital to the success of our staff than the capability and understanding of the people that lead them.

The NZSA and the special interest group are committed to making a positive difference to our industry and the people that work within it. If you have concerns or need questions answered I invite you to reach out, we are all in this together.

 

Secintel Security Situation Report
NZSA member Global Risk Consulting (GRC) have recently launched their Secintel System that provides a comprehensive national threat and risk assessment platform. The system provides a good level of understanding as to what is happening in our communities, and across areas of importance to security providers such as criminality, civil unrest and armed conflict, or commonly known as the security operating environment.

GRC have kindly offered to make the Secintel Security Situation Report for Q1 2021 available to NZSA members. Please download it on the Secintel website.

For more information on the Secintel System, please contact Chris Kumeroa on [email protected].

 

NZSA member referral – strength in numbers
NZSA’s membership has grown strongly over the past year and each new member not only strengthens the Association and the security community, it also enables us to provide you with more benefits and services and a greater voice for the industry. So help grow your community and strengthen your Association by referring a prospective new member.

To refer a prospective member please email details to [email protected]. For details on member benefits please see the NZSA website.

International Security Officers’ Day 24/7
International Security Officers’ Day, celebrated on 24 July, is an opportunity to say thank you to Security Officers for keeping us safe 24/7.

Celebrating International Security Officers’ Day is simple. As an individual you can acknowledge any Security Officers you see on the day by smiling and saying thank you.

For security companies and customers there is a range of things you can do, here’s a few suggestions:

• Send an email to your staff acknowledging the day and to thank them for their service.
• Organise a morning tea or make a site visit to say thank you in person.
• Mention Security Officers’ Day on your social media with a thanks to your staff.

On behalf of the NZSA team we would like to say a big thank you to all security officers and acknowledge the great work that you do keeping us safe.

 

NZSA support for LSV programme
The LSV programme is a free six-week motivational training course provided by MSD but facilitated by the New Zealand Defence Force. It is targeted at 18 to 25-year olds and aims to increase the number of young people entering employment or training by improving their self-discipline, self-confidence, motivation and initiative.

We introduced an NZSA Award to be presented to the trainee demonstrating outstanding qualities for the security industry – initiative, empathy and going the extra mile.

The recipient for the May course was Trainee Hamiora Te Kira from Porirua in the Wellington region. trainee Te Kira defininately stood out for all the right reasons and certainly exemplified all aspects of initiative, empathy and going the extra mile.

Whilst at LSV he had an interview with Fulton Hogan and has secured another one with Taylor Presetons this week. His long term dream is to join NZDF and has already started the online application process.

Congratulations to Trainee Hamiora Te Kira!

 

Face masks available

The NZSA has obtained from the Ministry of Health face masks from government stocks. These masks are Ministry of Health approved for essential services. The masks are available to order in boxes of 50.

If you would like to place an order can you please email us at [email protected] with your requirements.

 

Member Benefits

NZSA Speak Up Line
The NZSA Speak Up Line is free to members and provides access to a confidential service where staff can report issues such as bullying, sexual harassment, poor employment conditions, illegal practices such as theft or drug dealing and other matters of concern that may be occurring in the workplace and not being reported.

Phone                 0800 775 775

Online reports     www.integrityline-nz.org/nzsa

The NZSA will provide posters, business-sized card to go into wallets, stickers and introductory letters for your staff. They are designed for members to include their own corporate branding prior to distribution.

The service is particularly valuable where employees may be reluctant to speak up or report matters due to fears that by doing so it may affect their employment or risk further victimisation.

It is also important to note that such services meet government procurement requirements around providing a voice for staff.

This service is provided by Crimestoppers who obviously have considerable experience in handling sensitive calls in a confidential manner. They log the calls or online reports and forward to the NZSA for further investigation if required. The staff member can remain anonymous if they wish to do so.

Register for the NZSA Speak Up Line by emailing [email protected]. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.

 

NZSA HR Advisory Service
NZSA is partnered with Livewire HR to provide access to free HR advice as well as templated key documents and policies.

There are testimonials below from some members who have utilised the service:

“We have used Livewire for a while now and the documents are great to use and easy to download and save. We have implemented some policies based on the designed ones here and have good responses from our team. We will continue to use them for a long time to come. Would highly recommend.”

“I had a very good experience with Livewirehr, especially with Rebecca. She was approachable and patient with our questions. The advisory service is a big help and I would recommend using this great service”.

“When we had inquiries the response was very quick and super helpful. Some the security companies do not have a big HR team or Lawyer team and this is such a great service to use if something out of the ordinary appears and you want to be sure you are working within the regulations.”

Call           HR LIVE (0800 475 483)

Email         [email protected]

 

simPRO

simPRO is a leading operations management solution for service, maintenance and project contractors. Connect the office to the field, delivery exceptional customer service and gain invaluable insights with automated processes, streamlined workflows and in-depth business reporting.

NZSA members are eligible to receive a 20% discount on initial implementation costs of simPRO.

For further information visit the simPRO website.

 

Mobilcard

NZSA have an agreement with Mobilcard offering members fuel discounts

Key Benefits:

• Up to 16 cents per litre (including GST) discount off the pump price for all diesel and petrol purchased at a discounted Mobilcard acceptor sites. Minimum discount of 12 cents per litre (including GST).
• Available at 330+ sites nationwide. View www.mobilfuelfinder.co.nz to find an acceptor site near you.
• No card or transaction fees.
• No need to manage receipts for tax purposes, all managed under one account.
• Costs can be tracked easily with one monthly invoice. You can also have online access to multiple reports including the fuel consumed by individual vehicles.
• PIN number and purchase restrictions for added security.
• You must be a member of the NZSA to qualify for this offer.

A vehicle consuming 100 litres per week using a discount of up to 6 cents per litre = $6 discount per week

A vehicle consuming 100 litres per week using the NZSA MOBILCARD discount of up to 16cents per litre = $16 discount per week

For a company fleet of 20 vehicles that’s potentially an annual saving of over $10,000 per annum.

The discount level is dependent on volume of fuel used per annum.

For further information please email [email protected].

 

Membership

We welcome the following new Corporate Member:

Enterprise Security Solutions Ltd

and the following new Associate Company and Associate Individual Members:

Nick Gibbs

Peace of Mind Security Screens (Auckland) Ltd

 

Events

NZISF breakfast meeting
Thursday 8 July 2021

Topic:  Strategic Value Risk Equation (SVRE)

Present Gabriel Akindeju developed the Strategic Value Risk Equation (SVRE), and approach for creating business value through effective risk management. The SVRE is an approach that can be leveraged to define strategic value-aligned security strategy and security operations management frameworks.

When:  Thursday 8 July at 7.15am at Auckland University

For more information and to register click here

 

NZSA CEO regional visits
The regional visit programme was introduced four years ago as a way to ensure our members and non-members had the opportunity to meet with the CEO on a regular basis, to keep up with industry developments and to provide feedback on pertinent issues. The regional visits originally comprised breakfast or After 5 collective meetings but have evolved to the current one-on-one meetings at the member, or non-members, place of business. If you would like to meet with Gary please contact him on 021 122 9606 or [email protected].

7-8 July                  – Rotorua and Taupo
18-19 August        – Christchurch
9-10 September   – Whangarei and Northland
6-7 October           – Blenheim and Nelson
10-12 November  – Dunedin, Invercargill and Queenstown
7-8 December       – Hamilton and Tauranga