Labour Standards Officer

Tēnei tūranga – About the role

The Labour Standards Officer role sits within the Labour Standards Early Resolution Team which primarily supports the Labour Inspectorate by responding to reactive complaints to assisting employees and employers to resolve one-off instances where minimum employment standards have been breached. A Labour Standards Officer provides assistance, advice, education and information to clients of the Labour Inspectorate in order to enable them to meet their legislative requirements relating to minimum employment standards. The position is a team member position in MBIE’s Employment Services branch and will bring their business understanding and perspective to work in partnership with their manager, other staff within the Labour Inspectorate, and other staff within MBIE.

Ngā herenga – Requirements of the role

Personal specifications

• A strong interest, and/or study towards developing a career, in employment relations.
• Effective questioning ability to understand client’s circumstances and identify underlying issues and apply relevant legislative/policy principles.
• The demonstrated ability to apply and understand a variety of approaches to conflict resolution including cultural protocols in relation to people from different backgrounds.
• Able to effectively manage conflict and aggression.
• Able to influence others during challenging situations and able to encourage others to comply with relevant legislation.
• Ability to explain complex issues and policies in a manner that can clearly be understood and applied by clients, both over the phone and in written communication to a wide variety of audiences.
• Ability to relate to and build rapport with people from different backgrounds.
• Ability to listen empathetically while remaining impartial.
• Ability to communicate directly with diplomacy.
• Able to accept and work as a public servant having to complete tasks or take approaches that may not always fit with one’s own personal opinions.
• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills to make effective and sound decisions.
• Flexible in approach to problem solving.
• Demonstrated time management skills with the ability to prioritise workload.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work cooperatively within a team.

Prerequisite

• Must have legal right to work in New Zealand.

Takohanga tuhinga o mua – Key accountabilities and deliverables

Critical areas of success

The Labour Standards Officer will be required to deliver results in the following areas:

• Assessment of complaints about employment standards breaches to determine appropriate response.
• Early resolution assistance in employment standards matters.
• Administration of parental leave legislation specifically matters concerning parental leave payment applications referred from Inland Revenue for review.
• Assist INZ Immigration officers with AIP checks, advising on employment agreement compliance.

The Labour Standards Officer will perform these functions whilst working in a manner consistent with the values of the Ministry.

Resolution management

The Labour Standards Officer will achieve impartial, timely outcomes for parties by:

• Planning and managing our work.
• Applying the assessment process to minimum employment standards complaints.
• Asking the right questions to get the right information to make informed and accurate decisions.
• Escalating more serious issues appropriately and in a timely manner.
• Applying a guided self-resolution approach to a complaint where appropriate.
• Taking a ‘no further action’ approach to a complaint where appropriate and managing parties’ expectations.
• Applying verbal, legal, and numerical reasoning skills to problem-solving and decision-making.
• Establishing the facts based on interviews with employers, employees, and other relevant parties.
• Collection of information pertaining to the matter, such as wage, time and holiday records and employment agreements.
• Being a professional influence in challenging interactions, so parties remain involved in and committed to resolving the issue encouraging parties towards participation and a resolution.
• Ensuring compliance with employment standards in workplaces.
• Written correspondence to interested parties in relation to the matter.

The Labour Standards Officer will be proportionate and consistent in how we interpret and apply the legislation, by:

• Drawing on a solid understanding of the relevant legislation.
• Working with peers to review current or unusual complaints to ensure similar approaches for similar situations.
• Involving other parts of the Market Services Group, MBIE or other regulators when appropriate.
• Use of filtering and prioritising process, early intervention approach and facilitation.

Knowledge and data management, research, and analysis

The Labour Standards Officer will contribute to a defined and consistent approach to the team’s work by:

• Maintaining an in-depth knowledge of agreed business processes and practice resources and the purpose they play in growing consistency of practice.
• Following and applying agreed business processes and practice guidance.
• Applying assessment and triage processes effectively and documenting decision-making processes.
• Actively contributing to the collective review and improvement of processes and guidance resources.
• Contributing to the development and embedding of new branch-wide practice resources.
• Being flexible and responsive to changes in requirements.
• Providing timely and helpful information to others across the organisation.
• Maintaining detailed and accurate records and recording all transactions on the case management system.
• Remaining informed in relation to changes in employment related legislation and relevant case law.

The Labour Standards Officer will contribute to and make use of the wider MBIE intelligence system by:

• Making risk-based, intelligence-led decisions.
• Identifying where trends or more systemic issues may exist.
• Ensuring that information collected is fed into the MBIE Intelligence system.
• Applying the principles of the Privacy Act, Official Information Act, Public Records Act and other relevant legislation in how they document and share information about their work.

Cultural Awareness

The Labour Standards Officer will be effective across culturally diverse settings by:

• Ensuring cultural needs are taken into account when planning for and conducting interactions with external parties of different cultures.
• Embracing diversity within the team.

Relationship management

The Labour Standards Officer will maintain functional relationships with key stakeholders:

• Build and manage strong relationships with other staff in the Labour Inspectorate, Employment Services, the wider Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and other regulatory agencies.
• Develop and manage community relationships to support organisational strategies, including the Maori, Pacific, and Disability strategies.

Self-management

Takes responsibility for own behaviour and is open to development:

• Models’ positive behaviours.
• Models the desired values and culture of the organisation.
• Willingly shares knowledge, expertise and within the team and with others in the organisation.
• Acts with honesty and integrity.
• Welcomes feedback and is receptive to input from others.

Wellbeing, health & safety

• Displays commitment through actively supporting all safety and wellbeing initiatives.
• Ensures own and others safety at all times.
• Complies with relevant safety and wellbeing policies, procedures, safe systems of work and event reporting.
• Reports all incidents/accidents, including near misses in a timely fashion.
• Is involved in health and safety through participation and consultation.

Tō tūranga i roto i te Manatū – Your place in the Ministry

The Labour Standards Officer position reports into the Manager of the Labour Standards Early Resolution team within the Employment Services branch. The branch sits within the Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery group.

More information about MBIE's structure

To mātou aronga – What we do for Aotearoa New Zealand

Hīkina Whakatutuki is the te reo Māori name for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Hīkina means to uplift. Whakatutuki means to move forward, to make successful. Our name speaks to our purpose, Grow Aotearoa New Zealand for All.

To Grow Aotearoa New Zealand for All, we put people at the heart of our mahi. Based on the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi, we are committed to upholding authentic partnerships with Māori.

As agile public service leaders, we use our breadth and experience to navigate the ever-changing world. We are service providers, policy makers, investors and regulators. We engage with diverse communities, businesses and regions. Our work touches on the daily lives of New Zealanders. We grow opportunities (Puāwai), guard and protect (Kaihāpai) and innovate and navigate towards a better future (Auaha).

Ngā matatau – Our competencies

Cultivates innovation We create new and better ways for the organisation to be successful by challenging the status quo generating new and creative ideas and translating them into workable solutions.

Nimble learning We are curious and actively learn through experimentation when tackling new problems by learning as we go when facing new situations and challenges.

Customer focus We build strong customer relationships and deliver customer-centric solutions by listening and gaining insights into the needs of the communities we serve and actively seeking and responding to feedback.

Decision quality We make quality and timely decisions that shape the future for our communities and keep the organisation moving forward by relying on an appropriate mix of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgement to make valid and reliable decisions.

Action oriented We step up, taking on new opportunities and tough challenges with purpose, urgency and discipline by taking responsibility, ownership and action on challenges, and being accountable for the results.

Collaborates We connect, working together to build partnerships with our communities, working collaboratively to meet shared objectives by gaining trust and support of others; actively seeking the views, experiences, and opinions of others and by working co-operatively with others across MBIE, the public sector and external stakeholder groups.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi

As an agency of the public service, MBIE has a responsibility to contribute to the Crown meeting its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti). Meeting our commitment to Te Tiriti will contribute towards us realising the overall aims of Te Ara Amiorangi – Our Path, Our Direction, and achieve the outcome of Growing New Zealand for All. The principles of Te Tiriti - including partnership, good faith, and active protection – are at the core of our work. MBIE is committed to delivering on our obligations as a Treaty partner with authenticity and integrity and to enable Māori interests. We are committed to ensuring that MBIE is well placed to meet our obligations under the Public Service Act 2020 (Te Ao Tūmatanui) to support the Crown in strengthening the Māori/Crown Relationship under the Treaty and to build MBIE’s capability, capacity and cultural intelligence to deliver this.

Mahi i roto i te Ratonga Tūmatanui – Working in the public service

Ka mahitahi mātou o te ratonga tūmatanui kia hei painga mō ngā tāngata o Aotearoa i āianei, ā, hei ngā rā ki tua hoki. He kawenga tino whaitake tā mātou hei tautoko i te Karauna i runga i āna hononga ki a ngāi Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ka tautoko mātou i te kāwanatanga manapori. Ka whakakotahingia mātou e te wairua whakarato ki ō mātou hapori, ā, e arahina ana mātou e ngā mātāpono me ngā tikanga matua o te ratonga tūmatanui i roto i ā mātou mahi.

In the public service we work collectively to make a meaningful difference for New Zealanders now and in the future. We have an important role in supporting the Crown in its relationships with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi. We support democratic government. We are unified by a spirit of service to our communities and guided by the core principles and values of the public service in our work.

What does it mean to work in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Public Service?(external link) — Te Kawa Mataaho The Public Service Commission