At a glance
- The Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment Bill, colloquially called the Wage Theft Bill (Bill) clarifies that failing to pay wages and statutory entitlements is considered theft.
- New Zealand has seen cases of employers underpaying or withholding wages, with existing protections including prosecution, penalties, and recovery of monies.
- The Bill aims to further protect victims of wage theft and hold employers accountable with criminal sanctions.
- Proposed maximum penalties include one year's imprisonment or a fine of NZD5,000 for individuals, and a fine of NZD30,000 for other cases.
- The Bill is moving to the third and final reading, after which it could receive royal assent and become law.
The Bill has passed the Committee stage. It seeks to clarify that an employer failing to pay an employee their wages, and particular statutory entitlements, is theft.
The New Zealand employment jurisdiction has occasionally seen cases where employers have been found to underpay employees or withhold wages. Existing avenues to protect employees against these actions primarily includes prosecution by the Labour Inspector, penalties, and recovery of monies. The purpose of the Bill is to further protect victims of wage theft and ensure that employers who owe wages and intentionally do not pay them to the employee, are held accountable by the possibility of criminal sanctions.
At present, the Bill proposes to introduce the following maximum criminal penalties:
- If the employer is an individual, the maximum penalty would be one year's imprisonment, a fine of NZD5,000, or both.
- In any other case, the maximum penalty would be a fine of NZD30,000.
The Bill is imminently moving to the third and final reading, following which it could receive royal assent and be enacted into legislation.
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