An employer in Christchurch was ordered by the Employment Relations Authority to pay an employee $16,200 for not paying wages correctly.
In this instance, the employee was hired, trained and never paid by his employer for a period of about 7 months. The employer argued that they had paid the employee adequately.
When the employee made a claim to the authority for unpaid wages, it was found that the employer was not keeping records of its employee’s time worked and wages paid as required under the Employment Relations Act.
The award also included holiday pay and public holidays that were worked and not paid. Again, records were not kept so the employer could not prove to the authority that they had paid the employee correctly, instead the employee's side of the story was upheld and the authority gave him the substantial award. There was also no written Employment Agreement until the last two weeks of employment and this was detrimental to the employer's case.
Keeping up to date time and wages records is critical. Record keeping may well serve to be a protection to employers when they least expect it. Ensuring written Employment Agreements are in place at the commencement of employing staff is also a mandatory requirement.
Always use our latest comprehensive Employment Agreements to give your business the best protection and that they are implemented correctly prior to starting employment.
Members can download all of this from the Agreements section of the Employers Toolbox. To join or demo our online Employers Toolbox please see here