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Employment Relations Act 2000

Additional provisions relating to enforcement of employment standards - Defences relating to breach of minimum entitlement provisions

142ZD: Defences for person involved in breach

You could also call this:

“People who help others break the law can defend themselves if they trusted wrong information or tried hard to follow the rules.”

You should know about defences for someone involved in breaking minimum entitlement rules. This applies when one person (A) breaks these rules, and another person (B) is involved in that breach.

If B is taken to court for being involved in breaking these rules, they have two possible defences:

  1. B can prove they relied on information from someone else when they got involved. This other person can’t be B’s director, employee, or agent.

  2. B can show they did everything they reasonably could to make sure A followed the rules.

These defences are explained in section 142ZB of the law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6803112.

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Work and jobs > Worker rights
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Part 9A Additional provisions relating to enforcement of employment standards
Defences relating to breach of minimum entitlement provisions

142ZDDefences for person involved in breach

  1. This section applies if—

  2. a person (A) breaches a minimum entitlement provision; and
    1. another person (B) is involved in the breach.

      1. In a proceeding referred to in section 142ZB against B for involvement in the breach of a minimum entitlement provision, it is a defence if B proves that—

      2. B's involvement in the breach was due to reasonable reliance on information supplied by another person; or
        1. B took all reasonable and proper steps to ensure that A complied with the provision.

          1. For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), another person does not include a director, an employee, or an agent of B.

          Notes
          • Section 142ZD: inserted, on , by section 19 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 9).