Employee rights and obligations

Employee rights and obligations

Under New Zealand employment law, you and your employer both have certain rights and obligations. For example, your employer must not pay you less than the minimum wage set by the government. Your employer must also make sure where you work is safe.

You can find out more about the current minimum wage and your employment rights on the Employment New Zealand website. It has information in 14 languages and an online course where you can learn about your minimum rights.

For your part, you have to perform your job with care and competence, among other things. 

You must also stay within the conditions of your visa. If you have a work visa, it might be tied to your employer, industry, or to a particular city or region.

If your visa has conditions like these and you want to change jobs, you will need to apply for a variation of conditions first.

Employment agreements

Even if you have already accepted a verbal offer for a job, you must sign a written agreement before you start work.

Many larger companies offer collective employment agreements that have been negotiated by a union. If you are not a union member you can still take advantage of the collective agreement, and use it as a basis for your employment conditions.

If there is something in your agreement you are not sure about, you can take the agreement away to think it over, or ask someone for advice. If you want to negotiate the terms and conditions of your agreement, make sure you do it before you sign.

You have the right to join a union, and your employer cannot influence your decision. Our Support in the Workplace page has more information about unions.

Trial periods

Your employer may ask you to do a 90-day trial in a new job. You do not have to agree to a trial period. If you do agree, you must have a written agreement before you start work. If you want to negotiate, talk to your employer before you sign the contract. Note that only employers with less than 20 employees can use trial periods.

The Employment New Zealand website has more information about trial periods.

Leave and holidays

Most New Zealand workers would tell you they get a good amount of leave, at least by international standards. This is great given you have a new country to explore, and may need to go back home to visit family.

You will get a minimum of four weeks' annual leave. You can ask to exchange one week’s leave for cash if you want. In addition, there are 11 public holiday days.

If you work on a public holiday, your employer has to pay you extra. You may also be able to take the holiday on another day - it is called “taking a day in lieu”.

You are also entitled to a certain amount of paid leave for other reasons, for example if you are sick.

Leave and rights for working parents

New Zealand employers, and society in general, are supportive of working parents.

Many new parents are entitled to paid parental leave of up to 22 weeks. The government plans to extend this to 26 weeks by 2020.

If your child gets sick, you can use your sick leave entitlement to look after them. This type of leave is called domestic leave and can be used to care for any dependent family member.

Health and safety in the workplace

You and your employer are both responsible for making sure your workplace is a safe environment.

For more information about your health and safety rights and responsibilities at work, visit the Work Safe and Community Law websites.

Wages and deductions

The minimum wage (before tax) for adults as at 1 April 2019 is $17.70 an hour, or $708 for a standard 40-hour work week. There is no minimum wage for children under 16.

Income tax gets taken out of your wage before you get paid - these deductions are known as PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax.

Another, much smaller, deduction is for your ACC levy. ACC stands for Accident Compensation Corporation which runs the insurance system New Zealand has for covering costs if you are injured. Along with other benefits, if you are off work for an extended period because of an injury, ACC will compensate you for a large portion of lost wages.

Wages are usually advertised ‘before tax’. That is something to keep in mind when job-hunting, since the pay you actually take home will be lower.

You will need a tax number (called an Inland Revenue Department number or IRD number). If you do not have one, you might be taxed a higher amount than is necessary. It is easy to get an IRD number when you arrive in New Zealand.  Our Taxes page explains the process.

Aside from PAYE tax and the ACC levy, your employer is not allowed to make any deductions from your pay without your permission.

If you become a New Zealand resident, you will have the option of joining KiwiSaver, a work-based retirement savings programme.

Discrimination and harassment

Discriminating against someone because of their race, gender or other reasons is illegal in New Zealand.

Sexual harassment, including any kind of offensive or unwelcome sexual behaviour, is also illegal here.

If you think you have been discriminated against or sexually harassed in the workplace, you can complain to the Human Rights Commission.  We have more information on our page Your Rights.

Retrieved From: New Zealand Now