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Wages Protection Act 1983

13: Penalties

You could also call this:

"What happens if you break the rules: penalties for not following the Wages Protection Act"

Illustration for Wages Protection Act 1983

If you break the Wages Protection Act 1983, you might get a penalty. This penalty is decided by the Employment Relations Authority under the Employment Relations Act 2000. You can get a penalty if you do not follow the rules of the Act, or if you make payments in a way that is not allowed.

If you are a worker, you can ask for a penalty to be paid to you if your employer breaks the rules. A Labour Inspector can also ask for a penalty. But if you are a worker, you can only ask for a penalty from your own employer.

You are involved in breaking the rules if you would be treated as someone who is involved in a breach under section 142W of the Employment Relations Act 2000.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM74856.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
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13Penalties

  1. Where—

  2. any payment is made by or on behalf of any employer in contravention of this Act; or
    1. any employer or any person on that employer's behalf contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Act,—
        1. that employer, and every person involved in the contravention or failure, is liable to a penalty imposed under the Employment Relations Act 2000 by the Employment Relations Authority.

      1. A worker or a Labour Inspector may recover a penalty under subsection (1), but the worker may recover a penalty only in relation to the employer.

      2. For the purposes of subsection (1), a person is involved in the contravention or failure if the person would be treated as a person involved in a breach within the meaning of section 142W of the Employment Relations Act 2000.

      Notes
      • Section 13: substituted, on , by section 240 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (2000 No 24).
      • Section 13(1): amended, on , by section 11(1)(a) of the Wages Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 12).
      • Section 13(1): amended, on , by section 11(1)(b) of the Wages Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 12).
      • Section 13(1): amended, on , by section 11(1)(c) of the Wages Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 12).
      • Section 13(2): inserted, on , by section 11(2) of the Wages Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 12).
      • Section 13(3): inserted, on , by section 11(2) of the Wages Protection Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 12).