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Employment Relations Act 2000

Additional provisions relating to enforcement of employment standards - Liability of persons involved in breach, bodies corporate, and principals

142W: Involvement in breaches

You could also call this:

“This law explains who can get in trouble for helping someone break workplace rules.”

This law explains what it means to be involved in breaking employment standards. You are involved if you help someone break the rules, encourage them to do it, or know about it and don’t stop it. You can also be involved if you make plans with others to break the rules.

If a company or business breaks the rules, only people in charge can be held responsible. These people in charge are called officers. They include directors of companies, partners in partnerships, and anyone else who has a lot of power over how the business is run.

For companies, officers are the directors. In partnerships, the partners are officers. In limited partnerships, the general partners are officers. For other types of businesses, it’s anyone who has a job like a director or can make big decisions about how the business works.

This law doesn’t apply to criminal cases. It’s only for other types of legal issues about breaking employment standards.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6803099.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Business > Industry rules
Rights and equality > Anti-discrimination
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Part 9A Additional provisions relating to enforcement of employment standards
Liability of persons involved in breach, bodies corporate, and principals

142WInvolvement in breaches

  1. In this Act, a person is involved in a breach if the breach is a breach of employment standards and the person—

  2. has aided, abetted, counselled, or procured the breach; or
    1. has induced, whether by threats or promises or otherwise, the breach; or
      1. has been in any way, directly or indirectly, knowingly concerned in, or party to, the breach; or
        1. has conspired with others to effect the breach.

          1. However, if the breach is a breach by an entity such as a company, partnership, limited partnership, or sole trader, a person who occupies a position in the entity may be treated as a person involved in the breach only if that person is an officer of the entity.

          2. For the purposes of subsection (2), the following persons are to be treated as officers of an entity:

          3. a person occupying the position of a director of a company if the entity is a company:
            1. a partner if the entity is a partnership:
              1. a general partner if the entity is a limited partnership:
                1. a person occupying a position comparable with that of a director of a company if the entity is not a company, partnership, or limited partnership:
                  1. any other person occupying a position in the entity if the person is in a position to exercise significant influence over the management or administration of the entity.

                    1. This section does not apply to proceedings for offences.

                    Notes
                    • Section 142W: inserted, on , by section 19 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 9).
                    • Section 142W(2): replaced, on , by section 6 of the Regulatory Systems (Workplace Relations) Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 13).
                    • Section 142W(3): replaced, on , by section 6 of the Regulatory Systems (Workplace Relations) Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 13).