Everyone
Employers on stand-down
Employers who breach employment standards may be restricted from supporting visa applications and put on the employer visa stand-down list.
Employers who have breached employment standards
An individual or organisation that hires 1 or more employees and contracts them to work in exchange for wages or salary under a ‘contract of service’ (commonly called an ‘employment agreement’). An act of breaking a law, promise, agreement or relationship.
The length of the stand-down period depends on the enforcement action taken. You can find the list of employers currently on a stand-down period below. The list is updated weekly.
A stand-down period starts when:
- a
Labour Inspector issues an infringement noticeA warranted employee of MBIE who ensures employment standards are met in the workplace. They can take enforcement action for non-compliance with employment standards.
- the Employment Relations Authority or Employment Court awards a penalty for a breach of employment standards
- the Employment Court makes a banning order, a declaration of breach, or awards a pecuniary penalty in relation to a serious breach of a minimum entitlement provision.
This applies to all employers who support visa applications, including those who are:
- supporting work visa applications and approvals in principle
- seeking accredited-employer status or supporting residence-class visa applications based on employment
- part of the recognised seasonal employer scheme.
Immigration New Zealand sets the legal requirements for supporting a visa application. Find out more on their website.
Employ migrants - Immigration New Zealand(external link)
Immigration law for employers - Immigration New Zealand(external link)
Enforcement action and stand-down periods
The length of the stand-down period depends on what enforcement action is taken for breaching employment standards. The table shows the enforcement actions that lead to a stand-down period, and for how long.
| Issued by | Enforcement action | Stand-down period |
|---|---|---|
| Labour Inspectorate | 1 infringement notice | 6 months |
| More than 1 infringement notice at the same time | 12 months | |
| Employment Relations Authority or Employment Court | Penalties against an individual totalling $1,000 or less | 6 months |
| Penalties against a company or other entity totalling $1,000 or less | 6 months | |
| Penalties against an individual totalling more than $1,000 but less than $10,000 | 12 months | |
| Penalties against a company or other entity totalling more than $1,000 but less than $20,000 | 12 months | |
| Penalties against an individual totalling $10,000 or more but less than $25,000 | 18 months | |
| Penalties against a company or other entity totalling more than $20,000 but less than $50,000 | 18 months | |
| Penalties against an individual totalling $25,000 or more | 24 months | |
| Penalties against a company or other entity totalling $50,000 or more | 24 months | |
| Employment Court | Declaration of breach | 12 months |
| Declaration of breach and pecuniary penalty | 24 months | |
| Banning order of less than 5 years | 12 months | |
| Banning order of 5 years or longer | 24 months |
More than 1 infringement notice
A 6-month stand-down period is issued for each infringement notice, but if more than 1 is issued at the same time, the maximum stand-down period of 12 months will apply.
If an employer gets another infringement notice in the future, the stand-down period for the new infringement notice will overlap with the current one, so they will apply at the same time.
Example:
An employer is issued 3 6-month infringement notices on 1 January 2024, so their stand-down period ends on 1 January 2025 (12 months is the maximum period an employer can be stood down for multiple infringement notices issued at a time). On 1 September 2024, they receive another infringement notice for 6 months. This stand-down period ends on 1 March 2025 – meaning the 2 stand-down periods overlap from 1 September 2024 to 1 January 2025.
Stand-down periods following banning orders
If the Employment Court makes a banning order against an employer, the resulting stand-down period starts when the banning order ends.
Employer stand-down lists
Employment New Zealand maintains and makes public a list of employers who are subject to a stand-down period for breaching employment law, as outlined in the table above. This list is authorised by Appendix 10 of the Immigration New Zealand Operational Manual.
Employers stand-down list [PDF, 219 KB]
Immigration New Zealand maintains and makes public a list of employers who are subject to a stand-down period for breaching immigration law, as authorised by Appendix 18 of the Immigration New Zealand Operational Manual.
Immigration stand-down list - Immigration New Zealand [PDF, 219 KB]
Both lists have the same effect, and you can use them to find out:
- if an employer is on a stand-down period
- the length of their stand-down period
- when it ends.
Employers who have challenged an enforcement action remain on the list until the outcome of their challenge has been decided.