Extra requirements for controlling third party accreditation

Examples of employers who place people with controlling third parties include:

• labour hire companies
• employers who send migrant employees on secondment to a controlling third party
• parent or umbrella companies placing their migrant workers with a third party, like a subsidiary company or branch that is a separate legal entity.

The controlling third parties must be compliant

You must have good systems in place to monitor the employment and safety conditions of controlling third parties.

You must:

• respond appropriately to issues raised and identified that affect the migrant workers, and
• only place migrants who have Accredited Employer Work Visas (AEWV) with compliant controlling third party businesses.

A compliant controlling third party business must not be on a stand-down list, and must make a declaration they are not subject to an immigration stand-down or permanent ban.

They must declare they are not aware of any immigration issues that would prevent them from becoming accredited in their own right.

Include a plan to monitor safety

You need to include a documented plan to monitor migrant safety and employment conditions with your accreditation application.

You must have a documented complaints and resolution process and this can be uploaded when you apply to support your application.

Your plan must outline how you will check, before the AEWV holders are placed, that the controlling third party has an NZBN and is not on the Labour Inspectorate Stand Down List.

NZBN | New Zealand Business Number

Labour Inspectorate Stand Down List | Employment New Zealand

Your plan must outline how you will get declarations from the controlling third party, before AEWV holders are placed, that their key people do not have employment and immigration breaches or cases pending that could lead to employment and immigration breaches being raised before AEWV holders are placed.

Your plan must state that you will obtain agreements from the controlling third party that INZ can undertake site visits and can keep records to be given to you.

Before the AEWV holder is placed

You must:

• assess documentation about the third party's processes to prevent and address workplace bullying including a complaints process for the AEWV holders to report bullying and a process to address and resolve any issues reported
• assess documentation about the third party's processes to assess and prevent risk, including a risk register
• assess documentation about the third party's health and safety induction
• provide information to the third party about the AEWV holders' visa conditions and terms and conditions of employment
• assess documentation about the third party's complaints and disputes resolution process
• provide the AEWV holder with a complaints process and guidance to report issues directly to you
• get declarations that the third party and its key people are not subject to a stand-down period or permanent ban for specific Immigration Act or Crimes Act offences and will inform you if they are prosecuted for any such offences after the AEWV holders have been placed.

There are specific Immigration Act and Crimes Act offences that can lead to a stand-down period or permanent ban.

You must:

• get agreement between you and the third party that INZ will undertake a site visit and that the third party agrees to keep records to be given to you
• get declarations they do not require or force the AEWV holder to work hours inconsistent with their visa conditions
• get declarations the terms and conditions of the AEWV holders' employment aligns with health and safety standards
• check the third party has an NZBN and is not on the Labour Inspectorate Stand Down List for breaches of employment standards
• get declarations from the controlling third party that their key people do not have employment and immigration breaches or cases pending that could lead to employment and immigration breaches before AEWV holders are placed.

All of these measures are required for every controlling third party where an AEWV holder is to be placed.

Ongoing checks

You must have contact with AEWV holders:

• once per fortnight for the first 2 months of placement and then at least once per month, or
• more frequently where appropriate, for example where placement is for less than a month, or where there is a dispute or a complaint is in the process of being resolved.

You must carry out site visits:

• once every 6 months, or
• less frequently or not at all where there is evidence that the risk of the third party breaching requirements is low.

You must investigate and address employment and safety issues which may include working with the controlling third party to resolve issues or removing migrants from the controlling third party

You must implement actions to resolve issues by seeking external help for issues that cannot be resolved and reporting significant breaches to the relevant authority. In some cases you may need to remove AEWV holders from the controlling third party.

Other requirements

You must maintain records detailing which organisation each AEWV holder is placed with including, but not limited to, starting and finishing dates, the working locations, hours paid and hours worked (this includes hours for salaried AEWV holders).

INZ may revoke your accreditation if we determine you no longer meet the requirements.

Evidence

You must ensure evidence of checks, declarations and agreements can be provided to us if requested after you have been accredited and for subsequent employer accreditation applications.

You can upload supporting documents when you apply, if we request this.

Evidence may include but is not limited to:

• copies of the process documents and health and safety induction material provided by the organisation an AEWV holder will be placed with, such as contractual undertakings, workplace policies and guidelines, and records of communications with AEWV holders
• documentation from the controlling third party of complaint, dispute and incident resolution
• declarations and / or terms of business between the employer and the third party
• records of the communications with the AEWV holder while they are placed with the third party
• placement details of AEWV holders, including starting and finishing dates, regions and sites where the AEWV holders are working
• information obtained from site visits of the organisation
• information from AEWV holders
• wage and time records for the AEWV holder
• independent third party audit findings
• records of issues raised, how the issue was investigated and resolved, the outcome of issue resolution and corrective actions taken to prevent the issue recurring
• records of site visits and inspection findings.

Help for employers

The employer line is open between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Call toll-free from NZ landlines only:
0508 967 569