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223D: Labour Inspector may issue improvement notice
or “A special worker helper can tell bosses to fix problems if they're not following the rules.”
You could also call this:

“You can tell the Authority if you don't agree with a notice telling you to fix something at work.”

If you’re an employer and you get an improvement notice, you can object to it. You have 28 days after you get the notice to tell the Employment Relations Authority that you disagree with it.

When you object, the Authority will look at three things:

  1. Whether you’re not following, or haven’t followed, the rule mentioned in the notice.
  2. How you’re not following the rule, if you are indeed breaking it.
  3. If your employees lost anything because you didn’t follow the rule, and what they lost.

After looking at these things, the Authority can do one of three things with the improvement notice. They can say it’s correct and keep it as it is, they can change it, or they can cancel it completely. It’s up to the Authority to decide what’s best to do with the notice.

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Next up: 223F: Penalty

or “If you don't follow the notice to make things better, you might have to pay money as a punishment.”
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Part 11 General provisions
Improvement notices

223EObjection to improvement notice

  1. An employer may, within 28 days after the improvement notice is issued to the employer, lodge with the Authority an objection to the notice.

  2. The function of the Authority in respect of an objection is to determine—

  3. whether the employer is failing, or has failed, to comply with the specified provision of the relevant Acts; and
    1. the nature and extent of the employer's failure to comply with the provision; and
      1. the nature and extent of any loss suffered by any employee as a result of the employer's failure to comply with the provision (if applicable).

        1. The Authority may confirm, vary, or rescind the improvement notice as the Authority thinks fit.

        Notes
        • Section 223E: inserted, on , by section 37 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 125).