Immigration New Zealand has released details of the management process for provision of list of employers who have received an employment standards penalty by the Labour Inspectorate to Immigration New Zealand.

From 1 April 2017, employers that have incurred a penalty for a breach of employment standards will face a set stand-down period preventing them from recruiting migrant labour for six months, one year, 18 months or two years, depending on the severity of the breach.

Immigration New Zealand says criteria  for inclusion on the list will be published at Appendix 10 of the immigration instructions. It says Amendment Circular 2017-04 gives details of this.

Employers may challenge the enforcement action that lead to inclusion on the list. If the penalty is subsequently overturned, the employer will be removed from the list.

Immigration New Zealand says it does not have any influence over who is, or is not, included on the list." Any challenge to the enforcement action must be made through channels relevant to the method of enforcement action."

It says the list will include all employers who receive employment standards penalties on or after 1 April 2017, but Immigration New Zealand will continue to take non-compliance with employment law into consideration when making decisions, even if that non-compliance doesn't result in inclusion on the list.