Leading visa and immigration consultancy, VisaAide, is urging New Zealand employers to make sure they’re up to date with their accreditation and compliant with New Zealand employment laws and standards, plus the Immigration Act 2009.

This follows the deployment of new enforcement tools by Immigration New Zealand (INZ), which from April 11 have been used to combat lower-level immigration non-compliance and deter exploitation of migrant workers by employers.

The change targets employers who fail to follow the rules and is designed to provide immediate consequences for non-compliance.

While previously, employers found to be in breach of their employer accreditation would be prosecuted through the criminal courts, they can now be issued with infringement notices.

Infringement penalties can vary in severity based on the level of non-compliance and can include:

– A minimum fine of $1,000,

– Loss of accredited employer status, and

– Prohibition from supporting further visas for migrant workers.

A stand-down from supporting visa applications lasts for a period dependent on the number of infringement notices the employer receives. This might range from a 6-month stand-down for a single infringement to a 12-month maximum stand-down for multiple infringements issued at once.

Employers stood-down under this new enforcement strategy will have their names published on the Immigration New Zealand website. This brings a new level of transparency to the system, ensuring that the public is aware of those employers not complying with the rules.

Although employers can hire migrants with open work visas while on the stand-down list, they must demonstrate they have rectified the issue and taken the necessary steps to prevent future occurrences before they can be accredited under the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) programme again.

These new rules and penalties highlight the dedication of INZ to create a fair and level playing field for all employers in New Zealand. It ensures that businesses are aware of the consequences of non-compliance.

VisaAide is committed to keeping you updated on these important changes and to continue providing expert advice on how to navigate New Zealand’s immigration system. We support the efforts of the INZ in enforcing immigration standards and believe these new tools will help foster integrity, fairness, and transparency in the immigration and employment sectors.

Media Release 29 April 2024.

MIL OSI

Understanding these changes is important for employers and employees as it moves to establish a rigid framework for compulsory bargaining.

This bill seeks to provide a framework for collective bargaining for fair pay agreements across entire industries or occupations, not than just between unions and particular employers.

Should you wish to read the proposed changes introduced on 29th March click on this link:
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2022/0115/latest/LMS655984.html

This is the most significant amendment to the employment relations act since its inception in 2000.

The basic concept before the detail was announced today had already drawn severe criticism from an anxious business sector.  However, the bill goes much further than the early signals from government as to what it was proposing.  It envisages an entirely new section within the current act and returns Unions to their former role in employment bargaining.

It is modelled on the Australian Fair Pay system which is materially different form the New Zealand system of bargaining and pay systems. It is highly unionised with a collective bargaining infrastructure which NZ dismantled with the employment contracts act in 1991.

Not only is it bound to be a political magnet it will provide a minefield for dispute. interpretation and application.  It will require specialist negotiators to find the way through the proposed framework, adding cost to an already overladen compliance regime for individual small business owners.

Regulation only breeds legal arguments and disputes.

Whilst there is no doubt there are pockets of huge inequities in the pay systems in employment that need to be addressed these are not necessarily indicative of most workplaces.  Whilst slave labour and undervaluation of workers is anathema to fair working conditions this could arguably be a backwards step in a modern economy moving forward looking for a modern equivalent employment law framework not one dredged up from the past.

Grafting an Australian system onto a totally different employment infrastructure does seem to signal structural issues from the outset.
However, is this the panacea for fair pay or just an old-fashioned band aid.

Will it produce fairness and benefits across the board including more jobs, flexible working arrangements and increase productivity which NZ lags in?
Whilst it will entrench pay rates caught in a rigid pay structure. It is counterintuitive to flexibility which a rapidly fast-moving modern workplace demands which has been thrust on us by Covid -19 and advanced technologies.

Key parts of the Bill are:
• Eligible Unions can initiate bargaining for a FPA agreement
• The threshold for entry into FPA bargaining as an eligible union is 1000 employee or 10% of those intended to be covered by the FPA
• The bill also introduces a “public interest test” which gives access to the FPA system where there are systemic employment issues in the industry sector such as low bargaining power lack of pay progression long hours and contractual uncertainty.
• The Chief Executive of the MBIE will approve eligibility of the representation bargaining rights.
• The bill provides for employer default parties who will be listed in as schedule to the act and will be able to step in at the bargaining table where there is no employer bargaining party. Default employer parties will be the most representative employer entity in New Zealand. This will most likely be Business NZ.
• There are separate good faith obligations on the negotiating parties like those in the main body of the act.
• The Bill provides a template list of what must be included in the FPA as a minimum ie. Legal start and expiry date, normal hours of work, minimum base rate (including how they are to be adjusted), overtime, penalty rates, superannuation (if any) leave entitlements.
• It requires certain bargaining topis for inclusion such as health and safety.
• The FPA must also expressly include reference to any applicable governance arrangements for each party and the process for the applicable bargaining engagement
• The bill includes provision for dispute resolution based on the existing one in the act for when negotiations stall or fail to be ratified.
• If the matter cannot be resolved by dispute resolution, then either party can apply to the employment relations for to impose an outcome by determination.
• The final FPA (whether by agreement or determination) is to be submitted to the employment relations authority for a “compliance assessment” and approval by the authority. Once approved it then goes to a ratification process. If both parties to the bargaining ratify then it will move to
a verification exercise (a check that the FPA is legally compliant) the by the Chief executive of MBIE.
• Once verified the Chief executive of MBIE will validate the terms of the FPA in the form of secondary legislation and it will the terms and conditions within the FPA will be enforceable by law. It will apply to all employees specified within the coverage part of the FPA.
• Currently the Bill is going through the select committee stages. Any person or organisations with concerns should make submissions to the select committee. This is a significant piece of employment legislation.

Please contact Buckett Law for advice and assistance on how this effects you.

Media Release 19 May 2022.

MIL OSI

(PR.co.nz)

In recognition of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Workbridge recognises special employers who have gone above and beyond to show their commitment to creating a more inclusive workplace.

For the last X years, Workbridge has acknowledged employers who have gone above and beyond to show their commitment and dedication to creating a more inclusive workplace. The awards are presented to recipients annually on the 3rd of December which represents International Day of Persons with Disabilities. It is an opportunity for us as an organisation to celebrate the successful partnerships we have made with our employers and to celebrate the work they have done to make their businesses more inclusive.
Workbridge would like to thank all of the employers who have shown their support and commitment to a more inclusive workplace this year, in particular recipients who were selected for this years Above and Beyond Employer Awards. This year’s recipients were:
• Colonial House Motel (Northland)
• T8 Traffic Control (Northland)
• Spotlight Whangarei (Northland)
• South Pacific Meats Ltd (Invercargill)
• Enliven Resthaven Village (Southland)
• Care on Call (Hawkes Bay)
• Clean Team (Hawkes Bay)
• Napier Salvation Army Store (Hawkes Bay)
• Gisborne Volunteer Centre (Hawkes Bay)
• Alliance Group (Stoke)
• Starbright Cleaning (Blenheim)
• Tyres & More (Nelson)
• Spotless – Bruce McGregor (Nelson)
• AbFab Cleaning (Nelson)
• Talleys (Motueka)
• The Wood (Nelson)
• Sevenpenny Café (Greymouth)
• Bidfood (Greymouth)
• OCS Limited Whanganui
• Kaitake Golf Club Incorporated (Taranaki)
• OCS Limited New Plymouth
• Taranaki By-Products Ltd (Taranaki)
• Taranaki Property Services Ltd (Taranaki)
• Action Personnel (Palmerston North)
• NZ Post, Mail Service Centre (Palmerston North)
• Carter House Lifecare & Village (Te Puke)
• OCS Limited (Tauranga)
• Bake Shack (Mount Maunganui)
• Starex (Tauranga)
• Southern Woods Nursery Limited (Christchurch)
• Oak Tree Devanning (Christchurch)
• Trents Nursery (Christchurch)
• Paramount Cleaning (Timaru)
• Ritchies (Timaru)
• SkyCity Hamilton
• United Cleaning Services (Hamilton)
• Salvation Army New Lynn (Auckland)
• British Isle Inn (Auckland)
• Waitemata District Health Board (Auckland)

There are more than 160,000 disabled people living in New Zealand who want to work. Workbridge has a pool of jobseekers who are ready to start now. If you’d like to know more about the services Workbridge can provide your business freephone 0508 858 858 between 8.30am-6.30pm, Monday to Friday or email info@workbridge.co.nz. For all other ways to get in touch visit our website.

Media Release 27 December 2020.

MIL OSI

Small business owners who are disabled can get help growing their digital capacity, thanks to a new pilot initiative operated by Workbridge and funded by the Department of Internal Affairs.

Grow Digital works with disabled people running a small to medium enterprise (SME) to develop a plan specific to their business to encourage digital growth.

Grow Digital can also assist businesses who are not owned by disabled people but who employ a majority of disabled staff.

Workbridge’s Chief Executive, Jonathan Mosen, says working for oneself is an option many disabled people think about, and that’s even more the case in a tougher labour market.

“As a disabled person who has run my own business in the past, I know the many benefits of doing so. We can work at a pace and in a manner that works for our individual needs, and there are fewer attitudinal barriers to overcome,” he says.

“Some disabled people need assistive technology to help with their digital presence, for example if they can’t see the screen or use a keyboard,” says Mosen. “Choosing the right technology can feel daunting, and that’s one of the ways we can help”.

“Others may need assistance finding resources to get set up to sell their products online, find a business mentor, or even gain cost-effective access to a computer or Internet connection. Grow Digital is here to facilitate the success of disability-driven small businesses with tailored advice offered through a disability lens. It’s a ground-breaking initiative and we’re proud to have been selected by DIA to deliver the service.

“Working to close digital inclusion gaps, like digital skills, needs really good partners. Workbridge can really make a difference in this community, and we are excited to see what Grow Digital can do.” says Dianne Patrick, Programme Lead for Digital Inclusion at DIA.

The service is free to access. Small business owners who are disabled or who have a majority of disabled staff can learn more and apply by visiting http://GrowDigital.co.nz

The announcement comes on the UN-declared International Day of Disabled Persons, the theme of which this year is “Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World”.

Media Release on 3 December 2020

Media Contact
Jonathan Mosen, Workbridge Inc
Email: jonathanm@workbridge.co.nz
Phone: 021466736
Website: http://GrowDigital.co.nz

MIL OSI