Times they are changing… again!
31 October 2025
We’re pleased to share some exciting changes within the HealthyPractice team!
After a brief time leading the team, Peter Lycett has stepped into a new opportunity as Business Development Manager at MAS. In this role, Peter will be exploring new areas for growth opportunities including group life and insurance schemes. If you think your practice might be interested, then feel free to email him!
We’re equally thrilled to introduce our new manager, Hayden Saunders. Hayden joined MAS in September 2022 and has been a key part of our internal People and Culture team, serving as Head of HR Business Partnering. He brings a deep well of expertise in HR and employment relations, nd is based at our corporate head office in Wellington alongside the rest of the team. Hayden is eager to dive into the diverse range of queries we receive and support the HealthyPractice community.
With Fiona’s departure to enjoy her retirement, we are now looking to complete our team once again. We’re currently on the lookout for a Human Resources Coordinator to join us. We are after someone who is able to relate to our subscribers and the industry challenges they face, so if this sounds like a role that sparks your interest, send us through an expression of interest to business@mas.co.nz and we can provide some more info.
Closedown Periods – Christmas and New Year
As we approach the Christmas and New Year holiday period, we are receiving enquiries regarding practice closures between the statutory public holidays.
Some businesses observe an annual closedown during this time. If your practice customarily closes each year, this is considered an annual closedown under the Holidays Act. Employment agreements should include a clause outlining your obligations, including:
- The required notice period for closedown
- How annual leave entitlements are applied
- What happens if an employee has insufficient or no annual leave available
You can find detailed guidance on this topic here: Close down periods.
If your practice does not typically close during this period but you are considering doing so this year, you must consult with your staff. If agreement cannot be reached, you may direct employees to take entitled annual leave with at least 14 days’ notice. However, if employees do not have sufficient leave, you may be required to pay them for the days the practice is closed.
Annual Holidays
With summer approaching, many staff will be planning their annual leave. For managers, this can be a balancing act between accommodating leave requests and maintaining adequate staffing levels to ensure service delivery.
Annual holidays should generally be taken by mutual agreement. During peak periods such as Christmas and Easter, it’s important to have a fair and transparent process for managing leave requests. We recommend implementing a leave policy and a formal application process. Sample templates are available here: Annual holidays – Annual holidays.
Calculating holiday pay for permanent employees can be complex. The correct rate is the greater of:
- The employee’s ordinary weekly pay, or
- Their average weekly earnings over the past 12 months
Please note that different rules apply for employees returning from parental leave. More information is available here: Annual holidays.
Other recent articles
13 August 2026
21 years of HealthyPractice!
A lot has changed since the early days and HealthyPractice has transformed along the way to keep supporting practices in ways that are useful, practical and easy to work with. What has not changed is the heart of the service. It is still going strong. Most importantly, we would like to thank our Subscribers. Your support, feedback and trust over the past 21 years have helped shape HealthyPractice into what it is today, and we are so grateful to have been part of your journey while you have been part of ours.
16 July 2026
June on the road - Connecting with practices across New Zealand
Kia ora, We hope you are faring well, six months into 2026! At our end it’s been a busy month for the HealthyPractice team - here’s a quick snapshot of what we’ve been up to. It was great to connect face-to-face with practice owners, managers, clinicians and support teams at both the New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe Conference (NZVA) and the NZGPCME Primary Care Conference, both held in June. The MAS and HealthyPractice stand was a real hub of activity, helped along by a very popular coffee cart.
10 June 2026
Privacy updates and training
Due to recent changes, this month we wish to remind you of the update to the Privacy Act 2020 with a new principle called the Information Privacy Principle 3A (IPP3A). For practices’, the new principle means there are additional notification obligations when receiving personal information about a patient from a third party. Under IPP3A, if your practice receives patient information from another provider (such as a lab, hospital, specialist, pharmacy or ACC), you must take reasonable steps to let the patient know their information has been collected. This change applies to any information collected on or after 1st May 2026.
Join other practices already using HealthyPractice.
Register now