Employment Court confirms position on unlawful deductions from minimum waged RSE workers
The recent Employment Court case of Soapi v Pick Hawke’s Bay Inc emphasises the risks of making deductions to wages and what amounts to an unlawful wage deduction, particularly for workers employed under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. The RSE scheme allows accredited New Zealand employers to employ workers from specified Pacific Island countries for work in the horticulture and viticulture industries in New Zealand.
In Soapi, three RSE workers employed by Pick Hawke’s Bay challenged the lawfulness of deductions made from their minimum wage payments. The Court agreed with the employees and ordered Pick Hawkes Bay to reimburse the employees for the deductions and is also yet to consider penalties for breaches of good faith by the employer.
Key takeaways for employers:
- For migrant workers, wage deductions that had not been submitted to, and approved by, Immigration New Zealand are unlawful.
- Wage deductions to recover the cost of personal protective equipment (PPE) provided by the employer are unlawful.
- Contractual wage deductions that reduce an employee’s pay below the minimum wage are unlawful, even if the employee consents to the deduction.
- Deductions for accommodation provided by the employer were unlawful as they were not fixed by the workers employment agreements and exceeded 5% of their minimum rates of pay.
If you have any questions about how this may affect you please contact a member of our employment law team.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and not intended as a substitute for specific professional advice on any matter and should not be relied upon for that purpose.
