Labour inspectors targeting directors and employers personally for breaches…
During 2019 the Labour Inspectorate has taken 20 cases to the Employment Relations Authority or Employment Court to make directors personally responsible for employment law breaches. This is part of a focus by the Labour Inspectorate on ensuring that employers cannot avoid personal liability by closing their businesses. Many of the cases involved failure to pay minimum wages and failure to keep wage, time, holiday and leave records.
The 20 cases have involved penalties and pay arrears of $760,000 to be paid by individual directors and employers, in addition to penalties imposed upon companies as the employer.
Keeping accurate employment records and providing those to the Labour Inspectors, when requested, without delay is a legal obligation that the Labour Inspectors are determined to enforce and employers who attempt to delay the provision of material or provide inadequate records are likely to face prosecution and significant penalties.
Alan Knowsley
Employment Lawyer
Wellington