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Crack down on Employers not complying with employment laws
In a recent press release the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has said it will be cracking down on employers who are not meeting minimum standards of employment. The Government approved package is set to be made law later in the year, and will see that employers are met with a harsher response by the Employment Court. An emphasis will be put on employers keeping better records of pay slips, hours of casual workers etc... Labour inspectors will be able to investigate any possible breaches of the minimum standard and request any documents or records from the employers to look into the matter further.
Serious breaches such as exploitation will carry maximum fines of $50,000 for an individual employer or $100,000 for a company. Minor breaches will remain at $10,000-$20,000. The individuals may also be banned from being employers if the breach is of a serious nature.
The ministry stated there will be enhanced sharing of information between IRD, Immigration New Zealand and the Companies Office. It will also work to have more employment cases move straight to court instead of going through the mediation process first which is the current focus.
All of these changes will be included in the Employment Standards Bill to be introduced to parliament later in the year, it will go through the normal process, including the Select Committee in which public submissions are considered before being passed into law.