Achieving Sustainable Compliance
The Department of Labour’s policy on the enforcement of employment standards
This policy statement is for anyone who may have an interest in the role of the labour inspector as the regulator of minimum employment standards in New Zealand workplaces.
New Zealand’s workplaces are many and varied, and this policy statement does not attempt to describe every enforcement response by the Department of Labour. Instead, it sets out key principles and processes involved in compliance activity to assist employers and workers to understand a range of responses to situations that arise in a workplace.
The Department’s goal is to support sustainable compliance through education, engagement and enforcement. Through the decisions labour inspectors make we aim to support fair and effective workplaces now and into the future.
Labour inspectors seek to create an atmosphere of understanding and trust at the same time as they apply departmental policy and practice guidance in the exercise of their discretion.
This policy statement is one of the ways we hope to create transparency about the way we deliver our services and ultimately contribute to high quality and productive workplaces in New Zealand.
