Good news for those who are about to work for a New Zealand employer. From October 29, accredited employers are not allowed to use 90-day trial periods in employment agreements when hiring people on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV).
This is to encourage accredited employers to treat migrant workers fairly and to hire only when there is a genuine labor need or a skills gap to fill. Employment agreements provided with job check applications in the future must not include a trial period.
After getting a job offer letter from your employer in New Zealand, have a close look at the agreement papers. Employers who include a trial period in employment contracts run the risk of losing their certification. Breach detection could occur during the Job Check process or after the fact via post-decision and re-accreditation checks.
From October 29, an employer’s AEWV Job Check application will be declined if it includes an employment agreement with a trial period (regardless of submission date), or Immigration New Zealand (INZ) may request updated information. This includes Job Checks submitted prior to October 29, 2023 but evaluated on or after that date.
The 90-day trial rule will not apply to:
- Applications based on already-approved Job Checks, or
- Migrants who already hold, or have applied for, an AEWV based on a job check that was approved prior to 29 October 2023 (when the policy takes effect)
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has made adjustments to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) assessment approach. Most applications are taking longer than 10 days to process at present. Employers need to apply at least six weeks to apply for an accreditation and six weeks to apply for a job check with current processing times.
From 27 November 2023, accredited employers who place migrants in specific construction occupations to have at least 35% of their labour hire workforce made up of New Zealand citizens and residents in full time employment. This is an increase from the current threshold of 15%.