NEW ZEALAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Fiona Ashby, Luke Bowers, Daniel Erickson, Jessica Phillips, Natalie Foster, Shelley Slade-Gully, Tina Liu and Theresa Le Bas, Tompkins Wake
4.3 Working Time Working Hours
• 12 public holidays annually, with time-and-a-half pay for those who work on those days; • ten days of paid sick leave per year after six months; and • minimum entitlements to bereavement leave and family violence leave. The Human Rights Act 1993 prohibits discrimination in employment based on personal characteristics such as age, race, sex, religious belief or disability, and promotes equal employment opportunities. There are also statutes dealing with minimum wage rates, wages protection (eg, prohibition on certain deduc - tions from wages) and parental leave entitlements. Case Law and Collective Bargaining Case law plays an important role in interpreting employment rights and obligations, with the Employ - ment Relations Authority and Employment Court developing New Zealand employment law through their decisions. In cases involving questions of law of public importance, cases may also be heard by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. 4.2 Characteristics of Employment Contracts Written Agreement Requirement Employment agreements, whether individual or col - lective (negotiated by unions), must be in writing, and employers must keep signed copies. Employment agreements must comply with minimum statutory entitlements, and any terms that purport to undercut those minimum standards will be of no effect. The statutory duty of good faith applies to bargaining for employment agreements (individual and collective). Fixed-Term and Ongoing Employment Employment agreements can be for a fixed term or on an ongoing (indefinite) basis, but the Employment Relations Act 2000 provides specific safeguards to ensure that fixed-term arrangements are not used inappropriately to avoid protections afforded to per - manent employees. Where a fixed-term agreement is used, there must be genuine reasons based on rea - sonable grounds for the fixed term. Employers can - not use fixed-term agreements simply to circumvent employees’ access to personal grievance rights or to assess suitability for employment.
Working time arrangements and overtime are gener - ally agreed between employer and employee in the individual employment agreement, subject to compli - ance with minimum statutory entitlements. New Zea - land does not impose a strict statutory maximum on working hours, though health and safety obligations require employers to ensure workloads do not com - promise employees’ well-being. Minimum Wage The adult minimum wage remains at NZD23.95 per hour from 1 April 2026, with the starting-out and training minimum wage at NZD19.16 per hour. The Minimum Wage Act 1983 establishes the legal mini - mum wage, which is reviewed annually to reflect living costs. 4.4 Termination of Employment Contracts Not an Employment at Will Jurisdiction New Zealand is not an “employment at will” jurisdic - tion. Employees have significant legal protections against unjustified dismissal, and employers must fol - low both a substantively fair and procedurally fair pro - cess before terminating an employment relationship. Both parties are required to communicate openly, par - ticularly where significant employment changes are proposed, such as redundancies and restructuring. Personal Grievances Employees may raise personal grievances within 90 days, except in cases of sexual harassment where the timeframe is extended to 12 months. Disputes are often resolved through mediation, with unresolved issues taken to the Employment Relations Authority. Remedies available to employees who succeed in a personal grievance claim include reinstatement, com - pensation for lost wages, and damages for humiliation and injury to feelings. From February 2026, an income threshold applies to personal grievances, subject to a 12-month transi - tional arrangement. Employees paid NZD200,000 or above will not be able to access the personal griev - ance procedure.
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