Contracting company fined for breaking employment laws

A joint vineyard audit involved the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Labour Inspectorate, Immigration New Zealand and the Inland Revenue Department. Photo / iStock

A labour contracting company has been fined for not providing employment agreements and failing to produce wage and time records for employees working at the Cable Bay Wine vineyard in Marlborough.

The case was brought before the Employment Relations Authority when Labour contracting company KRSVP Ltd of Blenheim failed to comply with the Improvement Notice issued by the labour Inspector, asking to provide the documents required by law.

They were ordered by the ERA to pay more than $7500 in penalties for failing to provide employment records requested by a Labour Inspector.

The employer also tried to deny employing the workers and told the inspector he was going out of business.

Instead, the company had a recent name change from S & LJ Prasad Ltd to KRSVP Ltd.

The ERA determination suggested that meant the business remained active and was unlikely to be going into liquidation.

Labour Inspectorate Regional Manager Kevin Finnegan said failure to comply with the minimum employment standards would not be tolerated.

"Employment records are a basic legal requirement. Without them employers cannot demonstrate they are providing workers with entitlements such as minimum wage and correct holiday pay.

"Failure to comply with employment laws not only harms the workers but also the industry's reputation. Businesses should make sure the suppliers they use are compliant and not exploiting workers."

Employers who breach the employment law will be subject to enforcement action which can include penalties of up to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for companies.

A joint vineyard audit involved the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Labour Inspectorate, Immigration New Zealand and the Inland Revenue Department.

They checked for compliance with employment, immigration and tax laws.