7 May 2014

Farmers get employment rules message

7:38 am on 7 May 2014

Federated Farmers says there are signs that farmers may be getting the message about complying with the employment laws in the way they pay their staff and do the paperwork.

The issue was brought to the surface after a recent investigation by labour inspectors found most of the dairy farms they surveyed were breaking employment rules.

That seems to have been a wake up call for farmers.

Federated Farmers says, in just a single day on Tuesday, it received 30 orders for its new employment pack, which has just been updated to help farmers meet their obligations as employers.

It also sold 50 of its standard employment contracts on Tuesday.

There's a strong focus on farm employment at the DairyNZ farmers forum which opens at Mystery Creek on Wednesday.