Company director fined personally for failure to keep records…

The Employment Relations Authority has found that an employer and its director were both liable for failing to keep full and accurate wage records for 17 employees and failing to keep full and accurate holiday and leave records for 19 employees.

Virtually no records were kept of the hours employees worked and what wages they were paid.

The director of the company was personally involved in this failure to keep records and so was fined $27,500 for his personal involvement.  The company was in addition fined a further $55,000 for its part in breaches.

These fines do not include any back pay for any under payment to employees for their wages or holiday pay.

The onus is on the employer and any person involved in the process to keep full and accurate records for all employees for their hours worked and their wages paid, plus any holidays taken or owing.

In this case the possible maximum penalties would have been almost $1.1 million, but were reduced due to the early guilty pleas and cooperation with the prosecution, plus the fact that the large number of employees would mean the fine (on a per employee basis) would be disproportionate to the offending. 

With the fines totalling $82,500 it pays to keep your record keeping in good order.

Alan Knowsley

Employment Lawyer Wellington