ERA rules sustained wage non-payment amounts to constructive dismissal
A Malaysian labourer worked 17 weeks without pay. His employer denied ever knowing him. The Employment Relations Authority found an employment relationship existed regardless.
When ZiGen Wong arrived in New Zealand in September 2023 on a visitor visa, he hoped to find an employer to sponsor him for a work visa. Through a friend of a friend, Wong was introduced to Jason Liew, who offered labouring work at a downtown Auckland construction site. He started the following day, 26 September 2023, given a site ID card and PIN for access, according to the Employment Relations Authority's determination in Wong v NZAT Construction Limited [2026] NZERA 193.
He signed no employment agreement, received no payslips, and had no IRD number. All payments were in cash. Yet on 31 March 2026, the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) ruled that a genuine employment relationship had existed throughout.
The terms were verbal: $25 an hour, 9.5 hours a day, Monday to Friday, totalling $1,187.50 gross per week. Hours were initially recorded on a document headed "NZAT Construction LTD Weekly Time Sheet," though that practice eventually stopped. No end date was discussed, and Wong believed the working relationship would be ongoing, potentially across other worksites.
Payments became erratic in early 2024. Wong says he was paid through Christmas 2023, with money arriving sporadically between January and April 2024. For the 17 weeks...
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