If you have employees, then you have obligations to those employees to maintain compliance with employment law. Non-compliance with employment laws (or with immigration or health and safety laws) can have negative consequences for you and your business. For example, you and/or your business could be fined and have to pay heavy penalties, lose or not get a liquor licence, not be able to hire migrants, and in very serious cases, even go to prison.
We know the great majority of employers want to do the right thing for their employees and run their businesses legally. Successful business owners know that when employees are treated well, with respect, dignity, and in good faith, their business will become more productive and profitable, and employees will stay longer, reducing recruitment costs and at-work training time.
You can be proactive in minimising risks of labour non-compliance issues in your business by educating your managers and workers around their employment rights and obligations.
Educating your managers and workers around their employment rights and obligations
Making sure your staff are aware of their employment responsibilities and rights is important so they are in a good position to ensure your business’s ethics and aims are promoted and implemented correctly. You can achieve this by providing work-based learning and development in line with the laws of the location you operate in, such as:
- A Business Code of Conduct: You can use a business code of conduct or policy to communicate the aspirations, values and desired behaviours of your organisation. Within the code of conduct, specific statements on employment conditions will set out the rules for your workplace and tell your workers what you expect from them, and what they can expect from you. Ensure everyone in your organisation is aware of your business code of conduct by providing a copy during the onboarding process, and keeping a copy in an accessible location for employees to look back on as needed.
- Code of Conduct Statement: If your business is not ready to develop and implement a detailed code of conduct yet, you may want to produce an initial code of conduct statement instead. This can contain key messages such as "We are committed to providing you with a safe and healthy workplace," and "We are committed to providing you with all of your employment rights and entitlements." You should use your internal communication channels including emails, posters and newsletters to educate your workers about your code of conduct statement.
- Employment Law training: Employment Law can be complicated, and as an employer, you must treat your employees fairly and within the law. All employees have minimum rights – you cannot offer any less than these rights – so giving your managers and workers training around these rights can help to prevent negative consequences from arising.
For companies operating in New Zealand, Employment NZ have developed a range of online courses to educate both employers and employees on their rights and obligations. These courses can be accessed by creating a free account on the Employment Learning Modules site and you can also create an account on behalf of your business so you can register, monitor, and report on your staff users. To create an administration account, email your request to Employment New Zealand via the contact form.
These courses are also available on the Intuto platform. If you're an existing customer, simply email a member of our team and we can add them to your site. If you're interested in using the courses at your organisation, but are not yet a customer of ours, please meet with us to discuss how Intuto can work for you!
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