When you decide to expand to New Zealand, the team behind you is what will help you succeed. Therefore, you’ll need to recruit and hire talented, dedicated staff while staying within all...
Read MoreWhen you decide to expand to New Zealand, the team behind you is what will help you succeed. Therefore, you’ll need to recruit and hire talented, dedicated staff while staying within all of New Zealand’s employment compliance laws.
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When you decide to expand to New Zealand, the team behind you is what will help you succeed. Therefore, you’ll need to recruit and hire talented, dedicated staff while staying within all of New Zealand’s employment compliance laws.
Globalization Partners can help. As a global PEO, we’ll hire top candidates through our New Zealand subsidiary and assign them to work for your team. Instead of setting up a subsidiary and waiting months before you can hire employees, we’ll act as your Employer of Record and onboard your workers in a few days.
Recruiting in New Zealand requires knowledge of the different places where you can advertise your open positions. Some of the most common options include:
New Zealand has very strict discrimination laws, which means an existing or recruiting employer cannot ask any questions or make any decisions based on prohibited grounds that do not relate to someone’s ability to perform a job. Off-limit factors include age, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and political beliefs.
The Human Rights Act 1993 applies to all aspects of employment, including job advertisements, applications, interviews, and job offers. If one of your employees feels as if they have been discriminated against during the recruitment process, they can make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Review Tribunal. This situation could lead to fines and delays on your part.
One of the best ways to eliminate bias while staffing your New Zealand business is by blind reviewing CVs — remove applicant names and get an independent view of qualifications. You won’t consider any stereotypes this way, so you can focus on what truly matters to your company, including experience and skills related to the position.
When you’re ready to offer a job to a candidate, you must first make sure they can legally work in the country. Small businesses with less than 20 employees can use trial periods for up to 90 days, but make sure you explain this period if you use one. The employee must agree to the trial period, and it must be included in their signed, written employment agreement. Give the candidate information about any unions or collective agreements as well.
Take some time to talk about the role and its specific conditions, such as hours, location, salary, benefits, and holidays. An employee’s acceptance can happen through a verbal agreement or a written employment agreement.
Hiring New Zealand employees starts with a written employment contract. New Zealand compliance laws require a written agreement signed before the employee’s start date. The agreement must include employment terms, including place of work, responsibilities, work schedule, compensation, benefits, and termination terms. Ensure the employment contract and offer letter include all compensation amounts in New Zealand Dollars (NZD).
Following New Zealand’s employment compliance laws starts before you even hire employees. The country has strict discrimination and harassment laws that impact recruitment and hiring. You cannot discriminate against someone because of their gender, family status, color, race, political opinion, age, disability, and more.
Once your employee starts working for you, their regular hours are limited to a 40-hour workweek. The country has no statutory working hour rules, but most businesses operate between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. with a half-hour lunch. Overtime is allowed and can be factored into an employee’s salary or paid at their normal rate of pay or higher. Overtime arrangement must be agreed to by the employee and should be included in their written agreement of employment.
Employers can benefit from putting certain practices in place during the onboarding process. First, start by identifying the company culture you want to establish. The New Zealand employees you hire can play a huge role in whether that culture will succeed.
You’ll also need to discuss any training or learning opportunities necessary for your new employees to excel in their positions. Put these plans in place before your employees’ first day and go over them during their first week. You can also discuss:
Figuring out how to hire employees in New Zealand is complicated enough without also worrying about compliance. Instead, New Zealand hiring outsourcing services from Globalization Partners takes the hassle out of hiring employees for your subsidiary. We’ll hire top talent while you manage them through your company without the hassle. Then we’ll put them on our payroll and take on all the liability of New Zealand employment compliance, so you can focus on expanding your company.
When you decide to open expand to New Zealand, make Globalization Partners a part of your team. Contact us today to learn more about the services included in our comprehensive solution.
If you’re ready to grow your business, or you have questions about a specific country, complete the form. One of our experts will be in touch shortly.
