NEWS HUB
Marbles.
Newsletter
Autumn 2026
Autumn with me at Marbles: Graduation, Hawaii, and Key changes for employers
Welcome to the Autumn edition of the ‘Marbles’ newsletter. As the leaves turn and the days get crisper, things are anything but slowing down here, both personally and professionally. Still, I wanted to take a moment, as these seasonal newsletters are brief but important check-ins.
By the time you read this, I’ll be close to starting to pack my bags (and the cheer bows and daughters’ teenage anxiety) for Hawaii, where my 13-year-old is competing at the Global Games Cheer Championships. Watching her journey through elite sport over the years has been one of the greatest privileges of my life, and honestly, has taught me some of the greatest lessons. The late-night practices, relentless training schedules, the injuries, the setbacks, the tears, and the wins that came after months of grind, all of it has reshaped how I think about resilience.
I have learnt so much from watching her and supporting her – resilience isn’t about bouncing back unscathed. It’s about showing up the next day, doing the reps, and trusting the process even when results aren’t immediate. It’s a lesson I carry into every workplace I work with. Whether we’re navigating a restructure, a tricky personal grievance, or building a culture from the ground up, the principles are the same: consistency, courage, communication, and the willingness to keep going when things get hard.
A personal milestone
I’m also delighted to share that I recently graduated with my Master of Arts in Psychology (Organisational). Whilst I don’t get to have a graduation ceremony (as we’ll be in Hawaii during grad week), I did graduate through the university committee process and had a night out with my family to celebrate. It’s been a long road alongside running the businesses and family life, and I was so proud when I got that certificate. No doubt it will probably take 2 years to get it framed!
My thesis explored ‘Imposter Syndrome in High-Achieving Women, and the Organisational Factors that influence it.’ It’s a topic close to my heart, and what the research confirmed is that Imposter Syndrome isn’t simply an individual confidence issue to be “fixed” by the women experiencing it. Organisational systems, cultures, and leadership behaviours, things like inconsistent feedback, lack of transparency around progression, and cultures that reward overwork as proof of worth, actively reinforce it. The implications for organisations are significant, and this research has sharpened the lens I bring to my client work, particularly around leadership development, feedback systems, culture reviews, and supporting women through career transitions. I’m excited to fold these insights into the advice and strategies I provide going forward – a heartfelt thank you to those of you who have supported me along the way.
Ngā mihi
Jaime
Reflecting this ANZAC Day
As this newsletter lands close to ANZAC Day, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge it.
ANZAC Day holds particular significance in our whānau. My husband currently serves, my mother and father both served, and the thread of military service runs back through generations on both sides of my family, my paternal grandfathers, great-grandfather, uncles, and many others who answered the call across different eras and conflicts. Living alongside service has given me a deep appreciation for what military families carry, often quietly, and for the values that shape that life: duty, sacrifice, loyalty, and an unshakeable commitment to the person standing next to you.
There’s something powerful about a nation pausing together to remember. Whether you attend a service, observe a moment of silence, or simply take a quiet moment with whānau, ANZAC Day invites us to reflect on courage, sacrifice, and the people who came before us. For me, it’s also a moment to honour those still serving today – my husband, my mates, and the families who serve alongside them.
The themes of ANZAC Day, resilience, mateship, and standing alongside one another in tough times feel especially relevant in the workplaces I support. The best cultures I see are ones where people genuinely have each other’s backs. Where leaders make space for the human moments, not just the KPIs, where “she’ll be right” is balanced with “are you actually alright?”
This ANZAC Day, I’ll be reflecting on those values.
Lest we forget.
What Employers need to know: Legislative Changes & Compliance Roundup
Autumn 2026 brings a massive raft of legislative changes that every employer needs to be across. Here’s a high-level summary of what’s happening and what it means for you.
- KiwiSaver changes (effective 1 April 2026)
The default KiwiSaver contribution rate has lifted from 3% to 3.5% for both employees and employers. A further increase to 4% is scheduled for 1 April 2028.
A few key things to be aware of:
- Employer contributions are now compulsory for eligible 16 and 17-year-old employees. If you have young staff on the books, payroll needs to be configured to capture them.
- Employees can apply through Inland Revenue for a temporary rate reduction (back to 3%) for between 3 and 12 months. If they do, you can choose to match that reduced rate or continue contributing at 3.5%.
- If you use a “total remuneration” approach (where the employer KiwiSaver contribution is bundled into salary rather than paid on top), now is the time to double-check this won’t push any employees below the new minimum wage.
What you need to do – Confirm your payroll provider has updated settings, review any total remuneration arrangements, and budget for the increased cost.
- Minimum wage increase (effective 1 April 2026)
The adult minimum wage has risen from $23.50 to $23.95 per hour. The starting-out and training minimum wage has lifted from $18.80 to $19.16 per hour.
For a full-time employee on the adult minimum, that’s around $18 more per week, or $936 per year before tax.
What you need to do – Update payroll, send a written variation letter to any affected employees, and consider whether wage relativity in your team needs adjusting so your more experienced staff don’t end up sitting too close to the new floor.
- Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 (in force from 21 February 2026)
This is the most significant overhaul of employment law in years, and it shifts the balance meaningfully. Four core changes you should be aware of:
- Specified contractor “gateway test”: A new statutory test determines when someone is genuinely a contractor rather than an employee. If a working arrangement meets all the criteria (written agreement, freedom to work for others, no requirement to be available at set times, etc.), the worker is a contractor and can’t later challenge that classification. If it doesn’t meet the gateway test, the old “real nature of the relationship” assessment still applies.
- High-income threshold: Employees earning $200,000 or more in total remuneration can no longer raise a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal, unless they’ve expressly contracted back in. There’s a 12-month transitional period for existing employees above this threshold.
- Personal grievance remedies: Where an employee’s own behaviour contributed to the situation, remedies (including reinstatement and compensation for hurt and humiliation) can now be reduced by up to 100%. Serious misconduct removes remedies altogether.
- The 30-day rule is gone: New non-union employees no longer need to start on collective agreement terms for their first 30 days. You can negotiate individual terms from day one (though you still need to provide a copy of any applicable collective agreement).
What you need to do – Review your employment agreement templates, contractor agreements, and disciplinary processes. If you have high earners, the next 12 months is a window to renegotiate terms.
- Privacy Act changes: IPP3A (effective 1 May 2026)
This one is flying under the radar for many employers, but it’s important.
A new Information Privacy Principle, IPP3A, requires you to take reasonable steps to notify individuals when you collect their personal information indirectly, that is, from a source other than the individual themselves.
For employers, this commonly applies when you:
- Collect employee information from third parties such as payroll providers, recruitment agencies, reference checkers, or background screening services.
- Receive information from another agency, like Inland Revenue or a KiwiSaver provider.
- Use third-party tools (think benefits administrators, time and attendance systems, or HR platforms) that collect employee data on your behalf.
You’ll need to ensure individuals are told who is collecting their information, why, who holds it, and their rights of access and correction. There are exceptions (for example, where the individual has already been notified, or where notification isn’t reasonably practicable), but the default expectation is transparency.
What this means for working with me: I can help you audit your data flows, update privacy notices and employment agreements, review your third-party contracts, and build IPP3A-compliant processes into your onboarding. The 1 May deadline is approaching, so it’s important to have this on your task list.
Tip of the Season
Check in properly, not just casually.
As we head into the cooler months, energy levels dip, daylight shrinks, and the “how are you?” passing in the corridor often gets answered with an automatic “good, thanks.” For leaders, this is the season to go deeper.
A proper check-in doesn’t need to be a formal wellbeing meeting. It’s about creating the space for a real answer. A few things that work:
- Ask twice. “How are you?” followed by “no, really, how are you?” sounds simple, but it signals you actually want to know. T
- Be specific. Instead of generic questions, try “what’s been on your mind this week?” or “what’s draining you at the moment?” Specificity invites honesty.
- Watch for changes, not problems. Often, the signal isn’t someone saying they’re struggling; it’s a shift in pattern. Quieter in meetings, slower responses, declining things they’d usually say yes to. Notice it and gently name it.
- Make it routine, not reactive. Check-ins that only happen when something is wrong teach people to mask. Regular, low-stakes conversations build the trust that makes the harder ones possible.
If your leaders aren’t sure how to have these conversations, or your culture defaults to “she’ll be right,” it might be time for some targeted leadership development. Get in touch if that’s a conversation you’d like to have.