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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Privacy Act 2020

Miscellaneous provisions - Liability and offences

211: Liability of employers, principals, and agencies

You could also call this:

“Who is responsible when employees or agents make mistakes”

If you do something or forget to do something as an employee, both you and your employer are responsible for it. This is true even if your employer didn’t know about it or approve it.

If you do something or forget to do something as someone’s agent, both you and the person you’re working for are responsible. This only applies if the person you’re working for gave you permission, either directly or indirectly.

If you do something or forget to do something as a member of an agency, both you and the agency are responsible. This only applies if the agency gave you permission, either directly or indirectly.

If someone takes legal action against an employer because of something their employee did, the employer can defend themselves. They need to show they did everything they reasonably could to stop the employee from doing that thing or something similar.

This defence for employers is more important than the rule about employers being responsible for their employees’ actions.

There are two other parts of this law, sections 119 and 120, that might change how these rules work in some situations.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS23700.

Topics:
Rights and equality > Privacy
Work and jobs > Worker rights
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Part 9 Miscellaneous provisions
Liability and offences

211Liability of employers, principals, and agencies

  1. For the purpose of this Act,—

  2. anything done or omitted to be done by a person (A) as an employee of another person (B) is to be treated as being done or omitted by both A and B, whether or not it was done or omitted with B’s knowledge or approval:
    1. anything done or omitted to be done by a person (A) as an agent of another person (B) is to be treated as being done or omitted by both A and B, unless it was done or omitted without B’s express or implied authority:
      1. anything done or omitted to be done by a person as a member of an agency is to be treated as being done or omitted by both the person and the agency, unless it is done or omitted without the agency’s express or implied authority.

        1. In proceedings under this Act against any person (C) in respect of an act alleged to have been done by an employee of that person (D), it is a defence to prove that C took such steps as were reasonably practicable to prevent D from doing that or any similar act.

        2. Subsection (2) overrides subsection (1)(a).

        3. This section is subject to sections 119 and 120.

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