Thousands of workers could be substantially lighter in the pocket because of underpaid holiday entitlements.
Figures released today show about 24,000 workers across New Zealand are affected after labour inspectors investigated dozens of employers for breaches of the Holiday's Act.
The numbers could climb even higher as more reviews are planned but so far affected workers have lost out on anything between $70 and $1800.
Labour Inspectorate general manager George Mason confirmed today 42 employers had been under the microscope for "payroll-related" breaches of the act since 2012.
The move comes after it was revealed this year that the inspectorate's own umbrella department, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), had paid some of its 3000 staff the wrong amount in holiday entitlements.
The issue also affected police, costing $30 million.
It was not immediately clear if those two organisations had been investigated and a ministry spokeswoman said she could not comment on the organisations involved.
Mr Mason said more investigations were planned.
"At risk employers are those who have employees who have fluctuations in the hours they work, or receive additional pay on top of their normal wages, such as for shift work or commission payments," he said.
"The employer needs to make sure leave payment calculations are taking into account the fluctuations in the hours worked or pay received. They cannot just take a 'set and forget' approach to their payroll and expect to be compliant with the Holiday's Act."
