Employment Policy
Hiring and retaining good staff is a challenge many of Federated Farmers members face.
New Zealand's relatively flexible labour market is one of the key reasons why employment growth has been so strong over the past decade and why we have a very low unemployment rate.
Changes to employment legislation over the past few years has added significant compliance costs for employers, particularly small businesses. The result of these legislation changes has been more uncertainty, hassle, paperwork and cost to employers.
Federated Farmers is working towards reducing these costs and makes sure any new legislation takes into account the practicalities of farming businesses.
Immigration
Due to New Zealand's very low unemployment rate, many members have looked overseas to fill vacancies.
With the high number of dairy conversions there is a high demand for immigrant dairy workers. Federated Farmers works with the Immigration Department to improve the industry's access to overseas workers.
If you are planning on hiring an immigrant worker, you can find the information on the Department of Labour Website
Minimum Wage Review
Many members are employers. Raising the minimum wage without improvements in productivity makes farmers less competitive internationally.
Federated Farmers wants the government to focus on policies to improve skills, incentives for work and the business environment. This will enhance competition and productivity and allow businesses to pay the higher wages everyone wants.
The government's social objectives for the minimum wage would be better achieved through other means, such as assistance delivered via the social welfare and tax systems.
Federated Farmers also advocates that board should be included in the minimum wage.
Fact Sheets and Contracts
The Federation has a range of fact sheets to help members with rules around employment. These include:
- Drug and alcohol free workplace
- Increase in annual leave from three to four weeks
- Background checks on prospective employees
- Ending employment checklist
- Pre-employment checklist
- Job descriptions
- Parental leave
- Wages the basics
- Performance management
- Holiday and leave entitlement
- Redundancy
- Abandonment of employment
- KiwiSaver
- Minimum wages
- ACC
- Tax refunds for Employees
