No employment contract?
I run into cases from time to time where people don’t have a written employment contract. They were usually hired on a casual basis which eventually became a more full time one. There are certain industries where I run into this more often: landscaping, concreting and retail stores.
Everything is fine until one day it isn’t. And that’s when the trouble starts. It could be holiday arrangements, rates of pay, location of work, type or work or, in the worst cases, the job suddenly ends.
First of all, this is a very unwise thing for any employer to do. It is illegal and opens you up to all kinds of serious problems. If you run a small business and you pay someone to work, get them on a written contract. Contact me if you need help with this.
If you’re the affected employee, there are some things you need to know.
The salary or wage you received on the day you started work is the agreed salary and can’t be reduced below that.
You cannot be required to work more than 40 hours a week if you have no written agreement about overtime availability.
You are entitled to rest and meal breaks.
The salary or wage you receive can’t be less than the minimum wage.
If your company doesn’t pay you your salary or wage, it is now a criminal offence and should be reported to the police.
Your employer must handle PAYE (income tax), Kiwisaver, student loan deductions and child support payments. If your employer is not doing these things, they are breaking the law. However, it is possible that this could cause problems for you. Contact me.
You are entitled to holidays. After the end of each completed 12 months of continuous employment, an employee is entitled to not less than 4 weeks’ paid annual holidays.
You have the same employment protection as someone with a written contract. If you are harassed at work, your conditions of work become worse, shifts are unreasonably cancelled, you are affected by restructuring or redundancy or you are dismissed, you are entitled to bring a personal grievance against your employer. Register now to arrange a free Zoom meeting with me to discuss your options or contact me. Collect as much evidence (text messages, emails, payslips etc) as you can find so we can get the ball rolling.
