Employers don’t get caught out!
Compliance by employers with minimum employment standards is a serious concern for the Labour Inspectorate.
Penalties for non-compliance can be up to $100,000 (for a company) and even more for financial gain, plus the risk of negative publicity and hiring bans.
Employers are being warned about the importance and consequences of meeting their minimum employment standards obligations. The Labour Inspectorate is active in enforcing these obligations.
Zero Tolerance
Stu Lumsden, National Manager Labour Inspectorate MBIE says, “Breaches of employees’ rights won’t be tolerated in New Zealand. Employers who fail to meet their minimum legal obligations are warned they are likely to be investigated and if breaches are found they will be followed up with enforcement action.
“In the most serious cases the potential penalties, arrears orders and hiring bans could effectively lead to a non-compliant employer to go out of business.
“In the media, we regularly see serious cases of some migrant employees being exploited in their jobs, leading to issues such as unpaid wages and leave, and unfair dismissals. Unfortunately, we also regularly see some migrant employers exploiting staff who are often members of their own community.
“While most employers are fair there is clearly a need to keep strict compliance, including in migrant communities.”
Resources for Employers and Employees
The Employment New Zealand website provides a full range of free resources for both employees and employers. Go to www.employment.govt.nz and enter key words “minimum rights of employees.”
The resources include quick guides and publications in more than 10 translated languages.
“Current and future employers and employees will benefit from using the resources to identify and resolve issues early, before they become problems. In particular, an ongoing issue for businesses is keeping proper records,” says Stu.
Penalties for non-compliance can be up to $100,000 (for a company) and even more for examples of an employer’s financial gain, plus the risk of negative publicity. Serious breaches of the law are published in the news.
To contact Employment New Zealand:
Visit: www.employment.govt.nz
For information on record keeping enter “keeping accurate records”.
For details of non-compliant employers in the news enter “news.”
Phone: 0800 20 90 20 toll-free. A free interpreting service is available.
Restaurant owner to pay $5000 for Holidays Act breach
An Auckland restaurant owner has to pay $5000 for breaching the Holidays Act.
The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) has ordered Auckland restaurant owner to pay $5,000 for failure to comply with the Labour Inspectorate’s instructions in relation to records keeping and staff’s public holiday entitlements.
Ravi Singh, the Director of a Botany Restaurant, trading as Raviz, has sold the business, but continues to operate another Auckland restaurant under the same name.
The Labour Inspectorate found that the Botany business failed to provide accurate pay and leave records. It also failed to pay time-and-a-half to a staff member who worked on 11 public holidays.
The Inspectorate issued an improvement notice, requiring Mr Singh to audit payments made for public holidays and alternative holidays for all former employees and to pay any shortfalls identified. Improvement notices give employers the chance to fix their compliance issues without penalty.
While Mr Singh took some steps to rectify the errors, he failed to demonstrate that all the necessary payments had been made and compliance had been achieved.
The ERA ordered the employer to pay $5,000 for the failings.
“This case demonstrates employers cannot escape responsibility by on-selling their business, and we will continue to pursue unscrupulous employers,” says Labour Inspectorate Regional Manager David Milne.
“Consumers are also voting with their feet and refusing to buy from businesses that fail to provide their staff with the legal entitlements,” says Mr Milne.
MBIE encourages anyone concerned about the employment situation of themselves or someone they know to call its contact centre on 0800 20 90 20, where their concerns will be handled in a safe environment.
