THE one firm figure in the unfolding holiday pay fiasco is that six employers owe staff $33 million in unpaid entitlements.
The number of employees due backpay after investigations by labour inspectors already number 24,000, including 15,750 in the police force. The number is almost certain to grow because all 20 employers investigated for Holiday Act issues in the past four years had breached the 2003 legislation. Investigators have a further 22 Holiday Act inquiries under way.
The amount owed to employees through faulty payroll systems and misreadings of the law could run to hundreds of millions of dollars. Employers are having to scramble to rectify deficient systems and properly account for wages owed to staff in the public and private sectors.
Breaches of the act can be punished with fines up to $20,000 per breach for companies, and $10,000 per breach for individual penalties, but the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's labour inspectorate determined the police response did not warrant further punishment.
The police case is central to this issue because its difficulties have been known for some time. The order to top up wages underpaid for statutory holidays, sick leave, annual leave and bereavement leave was made a year ago, which should have prompted firms to audit pay records.
