Farm Workers Can Get Justice

The abuse of farm workers is sickeningly common. Some farm managers and owners act as if they were back in feudal times, where employees were property and their bosses could mistreat them as much as they wanted.

In a recent case a shepherd who was recovering from a heart attack was fired. Before the shepherd was fired he had repeatedly tried to talk to his employer about coming back to work, The employer then dismissed the shepherd, without even meeting with him. The employer said it dismissed the employee because it had decided he would take too long to come back to work. On the day the shepherd was terminated he was cleared by his doctor to return to work. Justice was done when the shepherd won $18,500 in compensation in the Employment Relations Authority.

The shepherd’s case is just one example of many which shows how badly many farm workers are treated. We have seen many cases, including:

- Farm workers underpaid thousands of dollars in wages and holiday pay.

- Farm owners not paying Kiwisaver money to the IRD.

- Warnings given with no meeting and no discussion.

- Depriving farm workers of their meat entitlement.

- Changes to farm workers' conditions of employment, or duties, without agreement.

- Verbal and physical abuse.

- Farm workers who are dismissed by text message.

- Invalid 90 day trial clauses being used to illegally dismiss employees.

- Unilaterally changing agreed rent and accommodation arrangements.

- Not letting workers take time off sick.

- Pretending that workers have no rights.

- Spreading gossip about the worker to other farm employees and in town.

Farm workers have the same employment rights as other employees. This means that if you are dismissed, or your terms or conditions of work are changed without your agreement, or you are in any way badly treated, that you may be able to take a personal grievance or sue for breach of your employment agreement. We have helped farm workers all over New Zealand. Please contact us if you would like to discuss your situation. All inquiries are confidential.