Essential Skills Work Visa - 5 Common Mistakes for Employers to Avoid

If you are an employer hiring staff on employer supported work visas - specifically the essential skills work visa, you will be required to submit a completed Employer Supplementary Form (INZ 1113) to Immigration New Zealand with every visa application you support. This is your formal declaration to INZ, and you will be required to complete basic details about your company (employing entity) and yourself, and agree that INZ can seek further information about your business and your compliance with NZ employment legislation.

These five common mistakes could lead to the essential skills work visa application being fraught with issues, creating a stressful experience for HR managers.

1. Incomplete evidence of advertising or attempts made to hire New Zealanders. The commonly seen problem here is providing either too much of information or not enough of it. 
2. Advertising inconsistent with the actual job. Seeking requirements in the advertisement that are either not aligned with job description in terms of skills and experience or are too strict/unjustified for the role can lead to the objective of Essential Skills Work Visa policy not being met.
3. Incorrect hourly pay rate calculation. A concern here is the overtime clause in employment agreements. Wordings such as “your salary compensates you for any additional hours required to fulfil your duties” – whilst not against employment law, creates interference with the hourly rate calculation for your migrant worker especially where the salary is close to/on remuneration thresholds.
4. Inaccurate or missing ANZSCO codes. INZ needs this information to determine if the applicant is suitably qualified for the work on offer and the market pay is met. Incorrect ANZSCO codes chosen by the employer could lead to inaccurate assessment and adverse outcomes.
5. Insufficient evidence of relevant work experience. This information is generally provided directly by the applicant, but insufficient evidence can slow down the processing of the work visa, leading to delays with approval – consequently impacting the employer who is waiting for the migrant worker to start the role.

If you would like to better understand how the above could impact you,
reach out to us for a complimentary consultation.

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