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Employment Relations Act 2000

Personal grievances, disputes, and enforcement - Compliance orders

140: Further provisions relating to compliance order by court

You could also call this:

“What happens when a court orders someone to follow the law at work”

The court has the power to make a compliance order, which is given to it by section 139(2) of the Employment Relations Act 2000. You can ask the court to make this order, or the court can decide to do it on its own, except in certain cases. The court can make this order when you ask it to, or when it decides to, as long as it is not a case started under section 139(4).

When the court is thinking about making an order against someone who is not part of the case, it must give that person a chance to come to court or have someone represent them. The court can change the time it gives you to do something, if you ask it to. A compliance order can have conditions, like what you must do, and it can last for a certain time or until something happens.

If you do not follow a compliance order, the court can do several things, such as stop your case, dismiss your case, or make you pay a fine of up to $40,000. The court can also sentence you to prison for up to three months, or take some of your property. In some cases, the court can order you to pay a fine to the employee involved.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM60397.

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Part 9 Personal grievances, disputes, and enforcement
Compliance orders

140Further provisions relating to compliance order by court

  1. The power given to the court by section 139(2) may be exercised by the court—

  2. on the application of any party to the proceedings; or
    1. except where the proceedings are commenced under section 139(4), of its own motion.

      1. Before exercising its power under section 139(2) in relation to a person who is not a party to the proceedings, the court must give that person an opportunity to appear or be represented before the court.

      2. Any time specified by the court under section 139 may from time to time be extended by the court on the application of the person who is required to obey the order.

      3. A compliance order of the kind described in section 139(2)—

      4. may be made subject to such terms and conditions as the court thinks fit (including conditions as to the actions of the applicant); and
        1. may be expressed to continue in force until a specified time or the happening of a specified event.

          1. Where the court makes a compliance order of the kind described in section 139(2), it may then adjourn the proceedings, without imposing any penalty or fine or making a final determination, to enable the compliance order to be complied with while the proceedings are adjourned.

          2. Where any person fails to comply with a compliance order made under section 139, or where the court, on an application under section 138(6), is satisfied that any person has failed to comply with a compliance order made under section 137, the court may do 1 or more of the following things:

          3. if the person in default is a plaintiff, order that the proceedings be stayed or dismissed as to the whole or any part of the relief claimed by the plaintiff in the proceedings:
            1. if the person in default is a defendant, order that the defendant's defence be struck out and that judgment be sealed accordingly:
              1. order that the person in default be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months:
                1. order that the person in default be fined a sum not exceeding $40,000:
                  1. order that the property of the person in default be sequestered.

                    1. An order under subsection (6)(d) may direct that the whole or any part of the fine must be paid to the employee concerned.

                    Compare
                    • 1991 No 22 s 56(3)–(7)
                    Notes
                    • Section 140(7): inserted, on , by section 17 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 9).