Employment Law Articles Archives

EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE – SEVERAL CHANGES FOR EMPLOYERS

May 28, 2019

Several changes came into effect on May 6. Individual employment agreements that are not in writing are now an infringement offence under the Employment Relations (Infringement Offences) Regulations 2019. Section 65(1)(a) of the Employment Relations Act 2000 already provides that an individual employment agreement must be in writing. At present an employer failing to comply…

Written by: Shima Grice

WAGE THRESHOLDS CHANGE FOR RESIDENCY AND WORK VISA APPLICATIONS

February 2, 2018

On 15 January this year Immigration New Zealand (INZ) raised the thresholds for Essential Skills work visa and Skilled Migrant residency visa applications. The increases are small, and result from changes in the median income levels in New Zealand. In September 2017, Statistics New Zealand announced that the average earnings from salaries and wages had...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

Global Impact Visa – what you need to know

November 23, 2017

The Global Impact Visa (“GIV Visa”) aims to attract highly talented, successful and well-connected entrepreneurs to establish their ventures in New Zealand. The key benefit of the GIV Visa is that it offers flexibility to attract innovative global entrepreneurs, investors and start up teams who are not covered under the existing investor and entrepreneur visa...

Written by: Paul Milne

Health requirements and medical waivers for immigration

November 22, 2017

Immigration policy requires an applicant who is applying for New Zealand residence to demonstrate that they have met the acceptable standard of health requirements. If a person does not meet these standards, they must undergo a health and medical waiver assessment. Acceptable standard of health Immigration New Zealand provides for a two-tiered system to determine...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

Character Waivers explained

November 22, 2017

What is a character waiver? To qualify for a visa in New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) requires the applicant to be of good character. One of the most common reasons that clients will seek a character waiver is a prior drunk driving conviction. If you are aged 17 or over, you are required to...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

Employers of Migrants face a ban for breaches of employment law

November 20, 2017

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) now has powers to apply stand down periods on employer incurs penalties relating to employment standards. These powers are there to protect migrant workers from exploitation. This group of employees enjoy the same legal protection as domestic workers but are more vulnerable due to the reliance on...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

Skilled Migrant Category now has an extra hurdle

November 20, 2017

The skilled migrant category changes bring an income threshold for applications under the Skilled Migrant residence category. For a role to be considered skilled, it must have a salary that matches the New Zealand median income of $48,859 a year. This change has allowed Immigration New Zealand to recognise that some jobs that might not...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

It’s now more difficult to get a work visa

November 20, 2017

Recent rule changes to the Essential Skills Work Visa category have added new barriers to overcome in order an application approved. The biggest change is the introduction of salary bands, which are determined by the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). These salary bands bring with them varying privileges including the length...

Written by: Janine McTainsh

Changes to Skilled Migrant Visas

January 20, 2017

Solicitor Michelle Urquhart was interviewed recently on her views in relation to the recent changes. Read the story here.

Written by: Janine McTainsh

MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES 1 APRIL 2016

March 6, 2016

The minimum wage is set to increase on 1 April 2016. The order increases the minimum rates of pay for adult workers, starting-out workers, and trainees. The new minimum hourly rates of pay are as follows: $15.25 per hour for adult workers (increased from $14.75 per hour); and $12.20 per hour for starting-out workers and...

Written by: Shima Grice