{"id":5299,"date":"2023-11-17T09:08:40","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T20:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pittandmoore.co.nz\/?post_type=publications&p=5299"},"modified":"2023-11-17T09:08:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T20:08:40","slug":"calling-all-employers-changes-are-coming-are-you-ready","status":"publish","type":"publications","link":"https:\/\/www.pittandmoore.co.nz\/publications\/calling-all-employers-changes-are-coming-are-you-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"Calling all employers – changes are coming, are you ready?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By<\/strong> Elly Fleming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

17 November 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Migrant exploitation fixes to impact all employers of migrants<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Media coverage over the last year or so about migrant exploitation has the country concerned. And rightly so. How some migrant employees have been treated by scammers is nothing short of inhumane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This bad behaviour by a few has seen regulatory consequences for all. There has been an increase in workplace investigations with joint compliance efforts by the Labour Inspectorate and Immigration New Zealand (INZ). There are also new powers for enforcement agencies to access employment documents, the establishment of a whistleblower hotline, and legislation that will impact every employer of migrant employees, even the good employers who might make a genuine minor mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming into force on 6 January 2024 is The Worker Protection (Migrant and Other Employees) Act<\/em>, which amends the employer offences and penalties in the Immigration Act 2009<\/em>, the Employment Relations Act 2000<\/em> and the Companies Act 1993. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a high level, the Act establishes a system of offences and penalties, with the primary aim of deterring employers (irrespective of their accreditation status with INZ) from exploiting migrant employees. Among its key provisions, is the creation of new infringement offence for lower-level breaches of employing a person in a manner inconsistent with the terms of their work visa. This carries both infringement fees of up to $3,000 per employee (which immigration Officers or Labour Inspectors can issue), and the possibility of larger court-imposed fines. There will also be \u2018strict liability\u2019 in place, so the employer will be guilty of the breach regardless of whether they can show a genuine mistake was made or where they made fair attempts to be compliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other important changes that all employers need to be aware of include facilitating information-sharing between Immigration Officers and Labour Inspectors and giving Immigration Officers powers to require the provision of employment records, for example their wage and time records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under this legislation, infringement notices identifying employers can be published. This naming and shaming of employers creates a further deterrent  in addition to the existing stand down list for non-compliant employers maintained by MBIE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, under this legislation the High Court has been granted the authority to disqualify individuals who have been convicted of exploiting employees and temporary workers under the Immigration Act 2009<\/em>, or individuals involved in trafficking in persons offenses under the Crimes Act 1961<\/em>, from serving as directors of New Zealand companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In summary, these changes combined represents a significant shift in workplace relations policy and will have major implications for employers and employees, including the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n