Trust is crucial: The warning to businesses hiring seasonal staff

Author: Michael Sergel,
Publish Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2026, 5:00am

With snow on the ski fields and many Kiwis and Australians currently enjoying a mid-winter break, employers are being warned to make sure they are complying with the laws around seasonal workers.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has carried out sweeping compliance monitoring of businesses in Central Otago during the past two ski seasons after receiving “ongoing complaints and concerns”.

Last year’s operation focused on hospitality, retail, construction, cleaning and security businesses in Queenstown, Frankton, Glenorchy, Wānaka, Cromwell and Alexandra.

Similar operations were also carried out before the past summer season on the Coromandel Peninsula, following other operations in Waikato, Taranaki, Rotorua, Taupō, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatū and Wellington.

MBIE is warning it is continuing to regularly check on businesses to ensure they are meeting minimum employment standards, including employment contracts, wages, leave entitlements, record-keeping and breaks.

HR software firm MyHR has found there’s an uptick in its clients hiring casual employees rather than permanent staff heading into the winter season, with 31% of hires in April being brought on on casual contracts.

MyHR Chief Evangelist Sylvie Thrush-Marsh said the biggest challenge with seasonal employment was suddenly having to deal with far more staff, including paying them correctly and on time, and making sure people are aware of hazards and safety obligations.

She said failing to do things properly could prevent a business from building trust with staff or could “almost invisibly erode” trust that has been built up, and could potentially lead to grievance claims or enforcement action.

“When you’re trying to get people into the organisation really quickly and up to speed really quickly because they’re only there for a short period of time, it’s really important that your staff trust you and that you trust them.

“With seasonal staff, you have a bunch of people you haven’t had very much time to build up kind of a trusting relationship with so there’s more room for things to be misread or misinterpreted. You have the potential for challenging situations to arise and to escalate quite quickly.”

The West Coast’s Fox Glacier Guiding hires a seasonal workforce each year, sometimes hiring 16 to 20 people in a single intake.

Chief executive Rob Jewell said it often hires through referrals of friends and family who have enjoyed working there in the past, but has to ensure each new hire has appropriate documentation, onboarding and training.

“We operate in a quite a regulated environment so all of that is super important to ensure we’ve got good quality standards in place and everyone’s brought on properly. We also operate our own staff housing, so that’s included in amongst all of that.”

David Milne, the Labour Inspectorate compliance manager for the Northern Region who’s been overseeing the adventure sports sector, said the law protects workers and allows businesses to compete on a level playing field.

Employers hiring migrant workers could demand to keep their passport, make them deviate from their visa conditions and get them to work while they did not have a valid visa, Milne said.

No staff member could be asked to pay a premium for their job and no money could be deducted without their permission, he said.

“In some instances, employers provide accommodation for seasonal workers. Where this occurs any deductions for board and lodging must be agreed to by the employee and must be reasonable.”

Michael Sergel is Newstalk ZB’s business reporter, covering the daily life of business and the business of daily life. He’s been covering business, politics, local government and consumer affairs for over a decade.