Supporting your workers with pastoral care
Employers in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme must provide a support package to RSE workers known as 'pastoral care'.
Note
Improvements were made to the RSE scheme on 2 September 2024. Learn more about what these changes mean for RSE employers and workers.
As an employer in the RSE scheme, you must provide pastoral care support to your RSE workers while they are in New Zealand.
Pastoral care is a key requirement for obtaining an Agreement to Recruit (ATR) and maintaining RSE status.
Check the guide for full details on the support to provide:
Supporting RSE workers when they arrive in New Zealand
When your workers first arrive in New Zealand you must:
- arrange for someone to pick them up from the airport
- provide a work induction programme to help them settle in. For help on what to cover in the induction use these guides:
New Zealand Ethical Employers (NZEE) Induction Compliance Reminders Guide
- arrange suitable accommodation – in some regions restrictions on the use of residential housing apply
- explain how they can:
- get medical care and use their insurance
- access banking services
- send money home safely.
Agreeing to voluntary pay deductions when you work on an RSE visa
Supporting RSE workers while they work for you
While they are working for you, you must provide:
- transport to and from work
- any safety equipment they need to do their job — for example protective clothing
- toilets and somewhere to wash their hands
- first aid, shelter, and fresh drinking water
- translations of health and safety instructions
- opportunities for recreation and religious observance.
When your worker's contract ends
When your worker's contract ends you need to pay half towards their airfare and provide transport to the airport.
Usually, you pay for half of the return airfare between New Zealand and your worker's country of residence. For a Kiribati or Tuvaluan worker, you pay half the return airfare between New Zealand and Nadi, Fiji.