1.1 Understanding work restrictions 

Some of the most common questions that cross-border learners have about employment are related to the restrictions their visa status places on the hours they can work. NauMai NZ and Immigration New Zealand have the most up-to-date information on work restrictions for international students. 

Remember that whether and how much students are allowed to work depends on their programme of study, and the restrictions change from time to time. Avoid making blanket statements for all international students or risk giving outdated information, and instead be sure students know where to go to access the most recent, accurate information and how to get support with translation or understanding the terms if they need it.

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Students are often focused solely on visa restrictions to determine how much they can work, but it’s important that providers help them understand that there are other considerations. Working too much may impact their academic performance and experience, and cause unnecessary stress and anxiety. Ensure that students have appropriate expectations before they arrive in New Zealand about how much money they will need to fund their time here and how much time they will need to spend on their studies. See Managing Student Expectations and Helping Students Budget for more advice.

1.2 Understanding employment contracts 

A common area of concern for cross-border learners who are working in New Zealand is their employment contract. In a survey of more than 500 international students in New Zealand, Anderson (2019) found that more than 20% of students didn’t have an employment contract. The International Student Experience Survey 2021 similarly found that 14% of students have had a job in New Zealand without an employment agreement, with students from China being most likely to experience this. 

Be sure that international students know it’s a legal requirement that they have an employment agreement. Employment New Zealand is a good starting point for understanding the types of employment contracts, as well as employees’ rights and responsibilities.

A question that comes up often for international students is whether they should be on a casual or part-time employment contract. This is important because if students are hired on a casual contract, they have no guaranteed hours of work. The employer doesn’t have to offer the employee work, and the employee doesn’t have to accept work if it’s offered.

The key distinction between casual and part-time work is that casual work has no clear work pattern. As soon as the employee begins to work regular hours, their employment becomes part-time rather than casual. Why is this important for international students to know?

Many international students work in industries such as hospitality, where they may initially be asked to pick up ad hoc shifts. At this stage, the student is a casual employee. They can refuse shifts if, for example, a shift conflicts with their studies. Likewise, the employer does not have to offer the student any future shifts if they aren’t available. In contrast, if a student works regular hours then the employer is obligated to offer the student those hours, and the student must commit to being available unless they request leave.

Let’s take a real life example to illustrate the potential impacts of this distinction:

• Lila was an international student working in a small hospitality business on a casual employment contract. Initially, she would just work the odd shift, but she gradually started working the same shift three times a week. At this stage, Lila’s employer should have changed her contract to part-time, but they left it as casual. When the pandemic hit, her employer immediately dismissed her without any notice. 
• Another international student, Jonah, was working casual hours at a local cafe, which soon morphed into regular shifts. Like Lila, his employment contract was not changed to part-time, and so when he requested leave for three months to go home over the summer break, his employer dismissed him without any notice.  

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In both of these cases, there may have been an unjustified dismissal as the employer failed to follow the correct process when dismissing an arguably permanent part-time employee. Employment law is complex, and we can’t be sure of the final outcome in either case, but what’s clear is that the type of employment contract matters. 

While providers shouldn’t be giving legal advice to international students, students should be made aware of this important distinction between casual and part-time work, and given advice on where they can go to understand their own work situation. Community Law can provide students with free legal advice in many cases.

1.3 Minimum wage and other employment conditions

You should also be sure that students have accurate information on the minimum wage and other employment conditions. NauMai NZ and Employment New Zealand have up-to-date information on minimum wage, holiday pay, sick leave, breaks and more. 

Top tip: provide students with key topics they should know about (e.g., minimum wage, holiday pay) with links to these sites rather than providing specific numbers that could change regularly and need to be updated.

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2.1 Common types of exploitation 

In a study of almost 500 international students in New Zealand, Anderson (2019) found that some common employment breaches were:

• working without an employment contract
• working for less than minimum wage 
• receiving inaccurate or irregular wages, or not being paid at all for certain work (e.g., training)
• working overtime without pay or without breaks.

The International Student Experience Survey 2021 found that the most common complaints were:

• no employment agreement (14%) 
• feeling unsafe because of an employer’s or manager’s behaviour (12%)
• being threatened or refused entitlements like sick leave or holiday pay (6%)
• getting paid less than minimum wage (6%)
• having to pay money to keep their job (1%).

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Be sure to let cross-border learners know they should look out for these situations in particular.

2.2 Why are international students vulnerable?

In interviews, Anderson (2019) found that international students said employers had “a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude, knowing the students’ need for work placed the employers in a position of power.” The primary reasons for not reporting incidences of exploitation were a fear of authority, fear of losing their visa, and the need to keep their jobs. Some international students also come from countries with high corruption levels and ‘kickbacks’ paid for services, which makes them distrustful of government authorities and less likely to report their employer.

Research also shows that international students’ vulnerability increases as they become more desperate to fund their living and study costs. Students who come to New Zealand in debt may be under more pressure to find and stay in employment. International students also frequently work in industries that are more likely to have relatively high rates of non-compliance with employment laws, such as retail, tourism, hospitality and horticulture.

Cross-border learners can also be vulnerable because of their aspirations for permanent residence after study, which depends on them gaining  work experience and possibly money. There is also some indication that migrants who get jobs through friends and family, rather than through job advertisements, are likely to earn much lower rates of pay. Sometimes exploitation can occur by others in the student’s ethnic community, even beginning before they arrive in New Zealand through false promises made by agents or others in their home country.

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2.3 How to help students stay safe

Here are some ways providers can help international students understand their employment rights and avoid exploitation:

• Help them find accurate and easy to understand information on employment rights. The International Student Experience Survey 2021 found that 29% of international students surveyed knew their employment rights not very well or not at all well. Students from China and South America felt less well informed than students from other countries. Employment New Zealand has created a free, online learning module specially for migrants and cross-border learners on An Introduction to Your Employment Rights, which is offered in seven languages. They also have modules in English only on Working Arrangements, Employment Agreements, Pay and Wages, Hours of Work, Holidays and Leave, and Resolving Problems.
• Help them find accurate and easy to understand information on employment law. Community Law, Employment New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand and NauMai NZ are great places to start. Offer to help them find a translator if needed. 
• Make sure that students have accurate expectations of the costs of living and studying in New Zealand before they leave home. See NauMai NZ, Managing Student Expectations and Helping Students Budget for more advice. [links to other mini-topics]
• Help students gain trust in government authorities by understanding their employment rights, how to make a complaint and what will happen if they do complain. They may come from a culture where they don’t expect to be listened to or taken seriously, so be sure they understand the protections they have in New Zealand. NauMai NZ also has information on what students should do if they experience bullying, harassment or discrimination at work.
• Help students understand that speaking up is not just important to improve their own situation. It is also a way they can help protect other international students and migrants, too. And it is a completely acceptable and in fact expected thing to do in our culture!

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Here are some links on specific topics that you may wish to share with students:

Employment New Zealand: 

• Migrant exploitation
• Employment contracts
• Employee rights and responsibilities
• Minimum wage
• Leave and holidays‍

Community Law Resources:

• Starting and leaving a job
• Resolving employment problems
• Employment conditions and protections

NauMai NZ: Advice for Students on Working 

MBIE: Migrant exploitation

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It’s important for international students to understand basic employment laws in New Zealand, so that they know their rights and can ensure they aren’t exploited or treated unfairly in the workplace. This module has discussed what information you should share with your students so they can protect themselves and those around them. 

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Anderson, D.M. (2019). The Land of Milk and Honey? An Investigation into the Working Experiences of International Students in New Zealand. PhD thesis, Auckland University of Technology. https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/50a3f806-c13b-452f-9e5f-182db60ec5f2/content 

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Education New Zealand. (2021). International Student Experience Survey. file:///Users/studioc_05/Downloads/International-Student-Experience-Survey-2021_FINAL-REPORT-v3.pdf