Employer requirements to help settle AEWV employees in New Zealand

Giving your employees information about working and living in New Zealand is a requirement of being an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) accredited employer.

Meeting the settlement requirements

As an accredited employer you are required to:

give your AEWV employees paid time to learn about employment rights, and

provide them with information about settling in New Zealand.

You must do this within the employee's first month of employment.

Evidence to show you have done this can include:

copies of settlement information

communications with AEWV employees about the settlement information

your organisation's induction plans for new AEWV employees

confirmation AEWV employees have completed Employment New Zealand’s online modules.

If you need help meeting these requirements, our employer line is open between 08:00 and 18:00, Monday to Friday. Freephone from New Zealand landlines 0508 967 569.

Paid time to complete learning modules

You are required to help your AEWV employees understand their employment rights.

You must give them enough paid time during work hours to complete the online learning modules from Employment New Zealand. This time must be within their first month of work.

These online modules help migrants learn about their employee rights and avoid disagreements.

Employment Learning Modules — Employment New Zealand

Settlement information you must give AEWV employees

As an accredited employer you are required to give your AEWV employees information to help them get settled in New Zealand.

You must provide the following information about the local community and services, and information about being an employee:

accommodation options

transportation options — including information on driving and driver licences, and public transport options

the cost of living

how to access healthcare services

Citizens Advice Bureau services

relevant community groups

how to get an IRD number from Inland Revenue

any industry training and qualification information and options, and

specific job or industry hazards.

NOTE

If you have given this information to the employee before, you do not need to give it again if the information has not changed.

Information you must provide

Optional information you could provide

Template to help you give the required information

You can provide the settlement information in your own document or use our template.

The 'Advice to help you settle in Aotearoa New Zealand' template helps to make sure you give your employee the required information.

Advice to help you settle in Aotearoa New Zealand — template for AEWV accredited employersDOCX 605KB

This document contains sections for:

general information you must include for all employees on an AEWV

local or personalised information you could include, and

optional information you could include.

Instructions for using the template

The sections you should personalise are highlighted in the document, with instructions and examples of information you could include.

Read all the highlighted instructions.

Replace the highlighted instructions with local personalised information. Use the examples to help you.

Delete any remaining highlighted instructions.

After you have updated the document with information for your employee, email it or give them a printed copy.

TIP

You can include this settlement information in a welcome kit — making a welcome kit is one of the things you can do to prepare for your new employee.