Monday 21 May 2018
I have previously written about importance of having good employment agreements with an adequate job description for employing people from overseas. That is especially the case if you wish to recruit and retain those employees and assist them towards a pathway to residency.
The job description is important for their application for a work visa. It will also be important to demonstrate that they either qualify towards a Work to Residency Visa for their residency application under the Skilled Migrant category.
Another aspect which is also relevant but has not been subject to the same scrutiny as the level of pay for the employee. An employer must pay the New Zealand labour market rate for a position, regardless of whether the employee is from New Zealand or overseas. The objective is to ensure that employers don’t displace jobs for New Zealanders with cheap overseas labour.
From time to time employers don’t pay enough attention to this. It can be problematic for them when they go to renew their employee’s work visa or seek to support the employee for a work to residency visa.
Another important thing is general compliance with New Zealand employment laws. Again, it is a legal requirement of all NZ employers to meet NZ employment laws. That includes keeping of time and wage records, having an employment agreement and ensuring that public holidays are observed and annual leave entitlements are met. These sound fairly basic, but it is amazing how many smaller employers do not comply with all of these requirements. Again, the employers can find that they can prejudice an employee’s future when the employee goes to renew their visa or apply for work towards residency. Immigration NZ may decline the employee’s application based on non-compliance of employment laws by the employer.
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KEYWORDS: employment agreement overseas worker employer employee
