The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Labour Inspectorate has revealed that, as part of the Labour Inspectorate’s nationwide clampdown, it has multiple compliance monitoring operations currently underway and planned for both the North and South Island in 2025. The operations are the result of intelligence gathering work carried out by the Inspectorate’s Compliance and Investigations team. Businesses identified are being checked for their employment practices, including payment of the minimum wage, record keeping, holiday and leave pay, leave entitlements, and payment of premiums.

 

Business sectors the operations are focused on include construction and security, both of which have seen significant increases in employee complaints, horticulture, viticulture, dairy and as might be expected, retail and hospitality will be of particular interest to the Inspectorate. Businesses where previous breaches had been identified will also be among those visited, to check improvements have been made.

 

Immigration New Zealand and Tenancy Services personnel will support some of the operations as part of an integrated approach targeting migrant exploitation and non-compliance with accreditation obligations.

 

Updates on the Employment NZ website confirm that Labour Inspectorate teams have been visiting businesses in the central North Island since late January. The Hamilton and Napier areas were the first up in what will be an ongoing initiative across the central North Island this year, focusing on the retail and hospitality sector.

 

In carrying out its investigation and enforcement role, the Labour Inspectorate has wide reaching powers. Labour Inspectors have the power to enter a workplace, interview anyone at the workplace, view and take copies of any documents considered to be relevant, and question employers regarding compliance with employment related laws. Where breaches are detected, the Labour Inspectorate can take enforcement action, including:

 

  • issuing an improvement notice requiring an employer to take steps to correct a breach;
  • taking cases to the Employment Relations Authority to seek an order for arears of wages, and for penalties of up to $10,000 for an individual and $20,000 for companies;
  • taking action to the Employment Court for serious breaches of minimum entitlement provisions, seeking an order of: penalties of up to $50,000 for an individual, or for companies the greater of $100,000 or 3 times the financial gain, and banning orders preventing a person or entity from acting as an employer for up to 10 years.

 

Although the focus will be on checking for compliance, the operations are also to be about educating employers and employees as to their rights and responsibilities regarding minimum employment standards, and to raise the visibility of the Labour Inspectorate to help deter poor practices.

 

If you are worried about compliance regarding your immigration practices for overseas worker, get in touch with our team today.