NZ Worker Protection Act changes - new requirements for employers
Emily Rust
Changes to the Worker Protection Act 2023 came into effect on 6 January 2024, strengthening protections against exploitation for immigrant workers.
In New Zealand, industries such as agriculture, hospitality and tourism, construction, healthcare and social work, IT, manufacturing, and education, have higher proportions of immigrant workers.
The Act protects the conditions of every employee in New Zealand.
Recent changes require employers to immediately (or within 10 working days) supply required records for inspection. Failure to supply the required records within the timeframe is an infringement offence.
The Act allows people convicted of migrant exploitation or people trafficking to be disqualified from managing or directing a company. This mitigates offenders from leveraging corporate structures to avoid consequences or detection and aims to prevent reoffending.
Several recent cases of worker exploitation bring this issue to the fore for employers:
- Dairy Farm and its owner must pay $215,000 in penalties after exploiting Indonesian workers
- ERA ordered penalties of $24,000 and $12,000 against employers of migrant worker in Central Otago
- Restaurant owners who exploited migrant workers must pay over $420,000
- 85 Auckland businesses checked in exploitation crackdown
See Immigration NZ for more articles and information.