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Employment Relations Act 2000

Personal grievances, disputes, and enforcement - Recovery of wages

131: Arrears

You could also call this:

“Getting paid the money your employer owes you”

If you do not get paid the right amount of money by your employer, you can take action to get the money you are owed. You can do this through the Authority, which is a group that helps solve employment problems. If your employer does not pay you enough, or does not pay you at all, you can ask the Authority to help you get the money.

The Authority can tell your employer to pay you the money you are owed, and they can even say that the employer has to pay you in smaller amounts, called instalments, if the employer is having trouble paying. This can happen even if you agreed to accept a lower amount of money, or if you did not complain about the lower amount.

You can still get help from the Authority to get the money you are owed, and this does not stop you from using other ways to get the money, such as going to court or using other services that help with employment problems, as stated in the Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM60376.

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Part 9 Personal grievances, disputes, and enforcement
Recovery of wages

131Arrears

  1. Where—

  2. there has been default in payment to an employee of any wages or other money payable by an employer to an employee under an employment agreement or a contract of apprenticeship; or
    1. any payments of any such wages or other money has been made at a rate lower than that legally payable,—
        1. the whole or any part, as the case may require, of any such wages or other money may be recovered by the employee by action commenced in the prescribed manner in the Authority.

      1. The Authority may order payment of the wages or other money to the employee by instalments, but only if the financial position of the employer requires it.

      2. Subsection (1) applies despite the acceptance by the employee of any payment at a lower rate or any express or implied agreement to the contrary.

      3. Subsection (1) does not affect any other remedies for the recovery of wages or other money payable by an employer to any employee under an employment agreement or a contract of apprenticeship.

      Compare
      • 1991 No 22 s 48(1)
      Notes
      • Section 131(1A): inserted, on , by section 43 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 86).