23 August 2004
Media Release
Most Small Businesses Don¡¦t Have Written Employment Contracts
Nearly 30% of all businesses don¡¦t have written employment contracts for staff, but for SMEs the number rises to 65%.
This emerged among key findings of more than 350 responses to an Auckland Chamber of Commerce survey on a number of
issues.
One of the questions asked businesses to say whether they had written employment contracts in place for all staff.
The survey found that 70% of all businesses who responded had written employment contracts. However, a breakdown on the
basis of firm size revealed that of the 30% of businesses without contracts the smaller the firm the less likely it is
to have written employment contracts:
„h 65% of firms employing between 1-5 staff are without written contracts.
Reasons given for not having a written contract included:
- Staff were all part-time;
- Use only subcontractors;
- Staff are partner (¡§wife¡¨ in another example) and personal friends;
- Employees are also shareholders
- Works fine without written contracts;
- ¡§We have experienced no difficulties in this area¡¨;
- We act in good faith;
- Still getting around to it.
Commenting, Chamber CEO Michael Barnett said the survey had been undertaken to provide feedback to Government on a key
employment contracts issue.
¡§Clearly there is a difference of attitude about the need for employment contracts between SMEs and larger businesses.
It suggests business groups and Government¡¦s education programmes on the advisability of employment contracts need to
be differentiated between small and bigger businesses.¡¨
ENDS