Some questions are too big for guesswork. When we hit one of those, we call in the experts, so you don’t have to.
This is where you’ll find straight-up, practical answers to the stuff that keeps park operators up at night. Click on the question to reveal the answer.
Are we breaching guest confidentiality by publicly displaying names?
QUESTION: We’ve already made some changes to improve privacy, like removing visible guest registration cards from the back counter. But during a recent info session, it was pointed out that we still publicly display guest names in two places: On the mail board outside the office On the late arrivals board for check-ins This has been standard practice for years, but I’m now concerned it might breach guest confidentiality. Have other holiday parks raised this issue, and how are they managing it?
ANSWER: Guest names would be considered personal information under the Privacy Act and displaying them on the mail/late arrivals board could be a disclosure of personal information. However, you are permitted to do so if this was one of the purposes of collecting their names in the first place. We would suggest there is not a significant amount of risk if the guests are aware that this is standard practice, and they haven’t complained. However, our recommended approach would be to inform guests when you collect their information that their names might be used on the mail board or on the late arrivals board. That will give them a chance to consent or refuse, and reduce the risk of any complaints. It might also be a good idea to inform them that they can ask for their names to be taken down/not displayed at any point.
Provided by Lane Neave October 2025
Should we be doing staff security checks?
QUESTION: Our team regularly enters guest accommodation, and while we’ve never had any issues, I’m conscious of the need to safeguard guests’ belongings and ensure appropriate measures are in place — especially when staff may be around children or cleaning bathrooms. Are other parks doing staff security checks, and what’s considered best practice?
ANSWER: In some industries it is a statutory requirement for employers to conduct police checks on employees before and during employment. This is for roles where an employee regularly works with children or vulnerable people (e.g. teachers, childcare providers). We are of the view that employees at the Holiday Park, where children might be around, is unlikely to reach this threshold.
However, you can absolutely ask any new employees to consent to a Ministry of Justice criminal record check, you just need to get written approval from them. You would also need to be clear on the job application that applicants must disclose all criminal convictions unless covered by the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act. Happy to assist you with some wording on this if you’d like. It is also worth noting that that once you have received consent to do the check, you must conduct it within three months or get the consent of the employee again.
For current employees it is not as straightforward. Given that it wasn’t an original condition of their employment, we are of the view that it could be considered an interference with their Privacy to ask for one now. The Privacy Commissioner in the past has found that belated criminal background checks have been an interference with the employee’s privacy.
Provided by Lane Neave October 2025
Does sick leave need to show on payslips?
No, employers do not have to show sick leave balances on payslips, and they are not actually required to provide payslips at all. However, employers must keep records of how much sick leave each employee has taken and how much they have left. If an employee asks for this information, the employer must provide it.
It is worth noting that with the proposed changes to the Holidays Act, employers may soon be legally required to provide payslips that include leave information clearly and transparently. Therefore, while it is not currently required, it may be soon.
Provided by Lane Neave December 2025
If an employee is paid a quarterly incentive, does the annual leave payment reflect this?
If the employment agreement or policies say the employee is entitled to a quarterly incentive (e.g. a bonus that must be paid if certain targets/conditions are met), then this payment must be included when calculating annual leave payments. If the incentive is truly up to the employer to pay and not guaranteed, it does not have to be included in the annual leave pay. The key is whether the payment is an entitlement or solely up to the employer’s discretion. This is actually quite a complicated area of the law and we would need to review the relevant paperwork to give a definitive view for this particular employer.
Provided by Lane Neave December 2025
Do we pay annual leave at their hourly rate or increase to the higher rate?
Annual leave should be calculated at the rate greater of:
The employee’s ordinary weekly pay at the start of the holiday; or
The employee’s average weekly earnings for the 12-month period just before the end of the pay period before the annual leave is taken.
Ordinary weekly pay is everything the employee is normally paid weekly under their employment agreement. This includes regular allowances, regular or incentive-based payments, the cash value of any board amount and regular overtime. If there is a specified amount in the employee’s employment agreement, this must be compared with what they actually receive, and the greater amount is the one used.
Average weekly earnings is the total amount of the employee’s earnings over the last 12 months just before the end of the last pay period before the annual leave is taken, which you would then divide by 52.
Again, just a note that as part of the Holidays Act reform, annual leave will be calculated based on an employee’s average hourly rate, and this will not include other components of pay such as incentive payments. However this is not in force yet, so for now the above applies.
Provided by Lane Neave December 2025
For those managers that are on salary are they required to keep a time sheet of hours, or no if the contract is a catch all with “all hours worked”? How should owners keep in line with this when managers (mostly couples) are 40 hours per week each, but they don’t really have a weekend per se? How should they track the public holiday time worked and ensure they are compliant as well as managing leave balances so they don’t get hit with a large leave liability?
Generally, employers are legally required to keep accurate records of hours worked, public holidays worked and leave balances. However if the salaried manager’s hours are genuinely fixed, worked as agreed and their employment agreement reflects this, you would not have to keep timesheets, but it is still important to have a reliable way to record any additional or irregular hours that are not set out in the employment agreement. This is to show that they’re still being paid above minimum wage for these extra hours.
If the employment agreement is not clear on the agreed number of hours to be worked, the owners would need to keep a record of hours worked to again be able to show that they are receiving above minimum wage.
The owners would also need to keep records for any public holidays worked, specifically:
- the dates
- number of hours
- payment received, and
- the date the employee became entitled to any alternative holiday.
To avoid large leave liabilities, the owners could encourage managers to take annual leave regularly and discuss leave planning during quieter periods. They might also want to provide regular updates on leave balances and monitor them through the payroll system. Employers can also require employees to take annual leave if they cannot agree on a time when it will be taken, and they provide at least 14 days’ notice.
Provided by Lane Neave December 2025