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Hiring foreign workers can be a sound business decision, especially if your business requires skills that are scarce among New Zealand workers. However, this process can be quite complex, considering the different categories of work visas, extensive application forms, and additional legislative requirements.
Why Hire Foreign Workers?
Your business might consider hiring foreign workers for a variety of reasons.
If your business operates in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, or construction, it might be challenging to find suitable and qualified New Zealand residents or citizens to handle the workload, and that’s where foreign workers come in.
They are typically temporary workers and can generally work for up to 3 years under an Essential Skills Work Visa, depending on your business needs, and there may be options to transition to residence in certain cases.
How To Hire Foreign Workers?
To hire foreign workers, they will need to be on a valid New Zealand visa. There are several options that you can consider, depending on the needs of your business, and the time and resources you are willing to invest.
Sponsoring Foreign Workers Yourself
One way to hire foreign workers is by sponsoring them yourself through Immigration New Zealand. The most common visa for this purpose is the Essential Skills Work Visa, which allows you to hire workers for up to 3 years for jobs that are on the skill shortage lists or for jobs paying above the median wage.
As an employer, you must first become accredited with Immigration New Zealand, which allows you to sponsor a foreign worker. Once your accreditation has been approved, you must nominate the foreign worker for a particular position within your company, which must align with the skills on the Essential Skills in Demand Lists, which you can find here.
You can then lodge the visa application for your foreign employee and ensure that they meet the visa eligibility criteria. For an Essential Skills Work Visa, important requirements for the foreign worker include having relevant work experience, meeting the standards of English language proficiency if applicable, being sponsored by an employer, and having a job offer for a position that matches their skills and experience.
On-Hire Labour Agreement
Another option to hire foreign workers is by partnering with a company that has an On-Hire Labour Agreement set up with Immigration New Zealand.
On-Hire Labour Agreements are formal arrangements that allow companies to recruit skilled foreign workers to New Zealand. These companies are responsible for complying with requirements such as demonstrating the skills shortage and why it cannot be filled by New Zealand workers, the number of skilled workers needed, and the skill and language requirements for the nominated occupations.
The foreign worker under an On-Hire Labour Agreement will be employed on an Essential Skills Work Visa, allowing them to work for the duration specified in the agreement. The workers must be employed full-time, paid by the company that sponsors them (e.g., the labour hire company), and receive a salary that is no less than the market rate for New Zealanders in the same role.
What to Take Away
Hiring foreign workers is a business decision for you and any business partners to consider.
There are several options for hiring foreign workers, and you can decide which option is best for your business, based on your time and financial capacity. Especially if your business is operating in industries which find it difficult to hire New Zealand workers, bringing in some foreign workers may be beneficial for your business!
Get In Touch
If you’re ready to get some agreements drafted for your labour hire business, or employment contracts for your sponsored foreign employees, Sprintlaw has friendly and experienced lawyers that can assist you with the legal processes involved!
If you would like a consultation on your options going forward, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or [email protected] for a free, no-obligations chat.
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