The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) recently dealt with a case involving a Chinese national who brought claims against a New Zealand company for unjustified dismissal and unjustified disadvantage.

The worker, who held a migrant exploitation protection visa, also sought penalties against the employer for breaches of employment standards and requested that company representatives be declared persons involved in these breaches.

The worker argued that despite paying substantial fees to an immigration agent in China and arriving in New Zealand with what appeared to be a valid employment agreement, he was left without work or employer contact for months.

He claimed the employer had failed to provide employment as promised and had unjustifiably dismissed and disadvantaged him through their conduct.

Immigration fraud creates employment confusion

The worker entered New Zealand on 31 May 2023 using an accredited employer work visa (AEWV), having paid his Chinese immigration agent RMB80,000 for visa services.

His visa stated he would work as a handyman, despite having only ever worked as a cook throughout his career.

The worker used Xinliang Wang, an immigration agent in China who worked as a consultant for Aomei Xinyang International Economic & Technical Cooperation Limited in Beijing.

Wang applied for the worker's visa using a 'job check' - a document that allows Immigration New Zealand (INZ) to confirm that a job is genuine and that the employer has made reasonable...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMi0wFBVV95cUxQSXFkdzkzWVF0empNal9tcGZn...