Farmers breaking employment laws

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Thousands of farmers nationwide are breaking the law by not having written employment agreements with their workers.

If caught, they face fines of thousands of dollars each.

Federated Farmers president Don Nicolson said a Federated Farmers/Rabobank farm employee remuneration report showed one in four farm employees did not have written employment contracts.

With about 30,000 sheep, beef and dairy farms in the country, the survey figures suggest several thousand of those farmers will not have written employment agreements with their workers.

Invercargill employment law expert Sarah McKenzie said it was illegal to hire a worker without a written agreement, with companies facing fines of up to $10,000 and individual bosses facing fines of up to $5000 for doing so.

It was in the interests of both the employer and employee to ensure a written agreement was in place because it set out the terms of employment and protected both parties, Ms McKenzie said.

Venture Southland enterprises services manager Alistair Adam said it had been holding workshops to upskill both the farm employers and the employees about their rights and responsibilities.

There were almost 5000 farm workers in Southland, who made up more than 10 per cent of the region's workforce, he said.

Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean yesterday called on the farm employers who did not have written employment agreements with their workers to "do the right thing and get (your) paperwork in order."

Mr Nicolson said it was a big worry to see so many farm businesses so exposed by not having written employment contracts.

"While good to see 9 per cent more farm businesses becoming compliant over the past year, there's still this huge hole."

Fault lay on both sides, with a responsibility on the farmers to ensure the agreements were in place and on the workers to ask for them, he said.

The Employment Court had little sympathy with employers when no contract was involved, he added.

Labour Department chief adviser for employment relationships Craig Smith said Federated Farmers was showing leadership in tackling the issue. "It is likely this situation is not confined to farming," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News