Youth rates raise privacy and age law issues

The Government’s youth wages proposal not only highlights its on-going arrogance towards private and discriminatory information, but has a number of serious implications for would-be employers, Labour’s spokesperson for Labour Issues, Darien Fenton says.

The Minimum Wage (Starting-out Wage) Amendment Bill allows an employer to pay less than the minimum wage to a young person who has been on a benefit for at least six months or is in training in a recognised industry training course involving at least 40 credits a year.

“But what is not clearly explained is how employers will be able to find out whether a young worker has been on a benefit for six months before they make a decision to hire them.

“Given the current issues around privacy breaches it is questionable as to whether Work and Income should be able to provide that information to employers.

“The Human Rights Act makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of employment status, including being on a benefit, and their advice is that employers should not ask the benefit status of prospective employees.

“Not only that, employers who advertise Starting Out wage jobs for 16 and 17 year olds could also find themselves in breach of requirements not to discriminate on the grounds of age.

“And despite Kate Wilkinson claiming the Starting Out Wage is not compulsory and workers will have to agree to it, young people who have been on a benefit who turn down a starting out wage job will be sanctioned with up to a 13 week benefit stand down, so their rights are undermined as well.

“The Government needs to be especially careful given the massive breach of privacy through MSD this week.

“We don’t need our young people’s personal information being treated in the offhand manner that is becoming a hallmark of this Government,” Darien Fenton said.