Lifting the Living Standards of Aotearoa

Current Mahi

SBC members are collectively improving the living standards of workers and employees through fair wages and employment practices, such as pay parity initiatives and generous parental leave policies.

The 2022 Thriving People will focus on lifting  the living standards of Aotearoa. We will be exploring three key areas; living/sustainable wage, pay parity and parental leave. This series will be practical, learning from members who have implemented work in these areas along with guidance documents to support you and your organisation on the journey.

Living and sustainable wages webinar

Part one in our series ‘Lifting the Living Standards of Employees’ was a webinar about living and sustainable wages, what they are and how to implement them. Claire Walker, Chief People Officer at Skycity facilitated the kōrero and was joined by Richard Greenaway (CEO Anderson Lloyd), Greg McNair (GM Employees Services Skycity) and Brenda Talacek (Chief Operating Officer Metering & OnGas Vector). Download the Implementing Fairer Wages Toolkit here.

Part two in our series ‘Lifting the Living Standards of Employees’. Listen to learn more about pay parity, what it is, how to calculate your pay gap and what you can do as an organization to reduce your pay gap. Marc England, Chief Executive Officer at Genesis Energy facilitated the kōrero and was joined by Alana Pearce Culture and Change Leader at Lion and Penny Rush Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Manager from Aurecon. Download the pay parity toolkit here.

Part three in our series ‘Lifting the Living Standards of Employees’. This Parental Leave guidance collates insights from five SBC members; Aurecon, DB , Fonterra, KPMG and Lion. It outlines the drivers  for implementing parental leave, the different policies organisations currently have in place , and the teams involved in the process of developing them. We hope other businesses can utilise these insights to implement their own additional parental leave policies. Thank you to all the members who shared their valuable insights for this work. Download the Parental Leave Toolkit here.

Previous Mahi

Welfare to work

Businesses have an interest in ensuring a diverse and productive workforce and healthy society. Through SBC’s Social Impact projects, business is collectively increasing their positive impact on communities in which they work.

SBC’s Welfare to work pilot, helped nine single parents find full-time work in Auckland. The project gave SBC some important insights into the challenges young job seekers face, especially the most excluded and disadvantage.

The next phase of the programme is already underway, following a co-design workshop with members and stakeholders. A package of supports to build member capability is being designed. SBC is focusing on building a strong relationship with the government, developing a candidate pool that our members can access. We are also broadening our approach to involve more members, particularly those operating in the regions.

Addressing the childcare gap

SBC has identified one of the main barriers to work for single parents is access to affordable and flexible childcare.

SBC and Barnardos partnered to develop CareEd4, a high quality childcare and education service that is fully responsive to the needs of working parents. It offers a more flexible, affordable and accessible childcare service, which available when parents need it.

The project was successful in getting Akina Foundation Contact Launchpad funding in 2014. Read more here.

Work Starter Internship

SBC has collaborated with industry training organisations (ITOs) on the Work Starter Internship that guides employees through the first three months of employment – the period when most new employment relationships with vulnerable young people fail.

Youth support initiative

SBC is working with the BusinessNZ Major Companies Group and the SBC Future Leaders’ Alumni to identify other youth initiatives companies can collaborate on for greater impact.