Vague employment contracts, late pay days, lack of management, excessive after hours, no lunch breaks, abusive work environments... If you think worker exploitation like this is only happening in third world countries; think again. Just because we live in a wonderful country like New Zealand, does not mean all employees work in dreamy, idealistic environments. It’s common to hear unethical employers called out in the media, and it makes me wonder how many get away with these unethical practices behind the scenes.

That’s why I was over the moon to discover Walk Ethical; a program that identifies, supports, and celebrates ethical employers throughout New Zealand.

If you’re like me, at the top of the list of things you’re passionate about, is humans working fairly. Work life takes up a big part of most people’s days, lives, and energy. So, shouldn’t it be an expectation that all people (no matter if they’re a person making clothes in India or a person organising finances in New Zealand) should be treated at work, as they deserve? This means lunch and morning tea breaks, wellness initiatives, fair pay, bathroom access, managerial support, and all round respect for the work that they do.

As kiwis looking after kiwis, we need to learn how best to vote with our dollar and support ethical employers who treat their employees like any decent human should be treated at work. That’s exactly what Walk Ethical allow us to do.

Walk Ethical are on a mission to:

• Help ethical employers in New Zealand be celebrated and rewarded

• Stop worker exploitation in New Zealand

• Lift employment standards in New Zealand

• Educate consumers on the best employers to support

• Educate employers on their obligations so they can safeguard their business

Using Walk Ethical’s rating program, we can make decisions around what to consume, to ensure we are supporting ethical employers whenever possible. A company will be a member either at a Bronze, Silver, or Gold level. You’ll see these ‘badges’ in their shop front window, on their website, or maybe you’ll have to ask and double check.

WE Bronze employers have received training around their employer obligations, including best employment practices. They have pledged to commit to ensuring employees receive the benefits that they are entitled to as an employee of theirs.

WE Silver employers are every bit as committed to their employees welfare as the Bronze members. On top of that, they’ve pledged to encourage positive communication with their staff, which leads to a better work environment for their team.

WE Gold employers not only offer the same positive work environment as you’ll find in a Bronze or Silver business, they’ll take it one step further. These businesses will actively communicate with their employees on their employment rights, and continuously work on improvement to be recognised as a great NZ employer.

At the heart of Walk Ethical is the belief that where you spend your dollar, represents the world you’re voting for. For example, when you buy a coffee from a cafe, you’re saying “hey, whatever you’re doing, keep it up!” You’re encouraging and supporting them to continue. But what if you knew that they underpaid their staff, didn’t give them lunch breaks, and only paid them when they felt like it? I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t even step in the door of an employer with these standards.

90% of Kiwis would stop buying a company’s products or services if they heard the company was irresponsible or unethical, and Walk Ethical are giving the 90% a way to match their consumer habits with their values. Finally!

I personally support Walk Ethical business members such as HealthPost and No Ugly, and it’s exciting to see so many more businesses take steps to becoming official ethical employers! So you can gather an exact idea of how Walk Ethical can help YOU (as a customer or a business owner), here’s a success story from Walk Ethical founder, ThaiAnh:

I received a call from a customer who has been following Walk Ethical on social media. She was on the market for some lighting solutions for her home renovations and she looked up Glowbal (a Walk Ethical employer) to see the brands that they provided. She mentioned that whilst Ecolife was a bit more expensive than the other brands that she was looking at, she decided to purchase Ecolife from her local Mitre 10 (New Zealand) Limited store, because it was to support an Ethical employer. She called in just to thank us for putting this program together so that she is now able to identify great businesses to support. Now that’s ROI for our ethical employers-increase in sales!

There’s no doubt Walk Ethical are New Zealand’s hub for employment relations. So, if you’re a new business starting out, and you want to start out as an ethical employer from the very beginning, here’s Walk Ethical’s advice:

- Know your employer obligations so that you can safeguard your business

- Seek professional advice so that you are setup correctly ie: payroll system, contractual agreements

- Treat people how you want to be treated or how you would want your child to be treated

- Become a Walk Ethical employer so that consumers and employees can find you

When you’re next shopping for an appliance, on the look out for a good plumber, searching for the best beauty company, or getting takeaways: ask if they are members of Walk Ethical.

As a rule, I only work with brands I love, use, and can whole heartedly back. I send the brand a large list of questions to answer first, and trial the product properly before saying yes to anything. This is a sponsored blog (I can't pay my electricity bill with free products), but 100% my own words, photos, and opinion.