Labour Inspectorate finds four interns were employees; penalties for church and founder still pending
ARISE Church has agreed to pay $173,869.56 in arrears to four former interns after New Zealand's Labour Inspectorate found they were employees, not volunteers.
The agreement is recorded in a consent determination from the Employment Relations Authority (ERA), according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). In it, the church accepts that the way it implemented parts of its internship programme at the relevant time made the four interns employees. It also acknowledges that breaches of minimum employment standards followed. The Labour Inspectorate will distribute the money to the former interns.
"In this case, our investigation found that the relationship between ARISE Church and the four former interns was one of employment," said Jeanie Borsboom, Labour Inspectorate manager, specialist inspection.
The inspectorate began investigating in 2022 after receiving a complaint about the programme. It examined the real nature of the relationship between the church and the people who took part, MBIE said.
Founding pastor John Cameron has separately agreed with the inspectorate that he was a person involved in the breaches, and he has apologised to the interns. The ERA has yet to issue a consent determination in his case. Both the church and Cameron have accepted that penalties are appropriate, and the ERA will now decide them. The Labour Inspectorate said it will not comment further while that matter is before the authority.
In a letter to its congregation, the church board said it had "fell short" in its handling of the matter, the NZ Herald reported. Its apology said it deeply regrets that the interns placed trust in a church community and experienced hurt and disappointment.
What HR leaders should note
Concerns about ARISE's internship programme became public in April 2022. 1News reported at the time that one former intern said she worked about 50 unpaid hours a week while paying the church to take part. The board said then that it could not comment on specific allegations. Cameron stepped aside from pastoral duties that month, and he and his wife, Gillian, resigned from church leadership in May 2022, according to 1News.
The case turns on substance over labels. Employment New Zealand guidance says a volunteer must not expect or receive payment of any kind. It adds that the longer someone volunteers and the more hours they work, the more likely they are to be considered an employee. A paid internship, the agency says, should carry at least the relevant minimum wage and a written employment agreement, with a fixed term and a stated reason for it.
Law firm Lane Neave has noted that the Employment Relations Act 2000 contains no legal definition of "intern". Calling someone a volunteer is not enough, it said, if the Authority or Court finds the real relationship was employment, including where the worker expected a reward and received one.
The Employment Court took a similar approach in 2022 when it found three Gloriavale leavers were employees from the age of six, rejecting the community's description of their work as chores, 1News reported.
Borsboom said the ARISE outcome is a reminder to organisations that engage volunteers, interns or trainees.
"Internship and volunteer programmes can provide valuable opportunities, but organisations must carefully consider whether the circumstances surrounding the work being performed creates an employment relationship," she said.
The inspectorate encourages employers to seek advice if they are unsure of their obligations. MBIE also invites anyone who believes they or someone else has been treated unfairly at work to call the ministry.
