Labour rights in New Zealand

Labour rights in New Zealand are largely covered by both statute, particularly the Employment Relations Act 2000, and common law (including cases, judicial decisions and tribunal decision). The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment carries out most of the day to day administrative functions surrounding labour rights and their practical application in the state.

New Zealand is committed to a number of international institutions and treaties and is widely regarded as one of the world's pioneers in terms of enforcement of and protection of labour rights and obligations.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MIBE) was formed on 1 July 2012. The Ministry describes its primary role is to “Grow New Zealand for All”. The MBIE brought together four former separate government agencies into one umbrella ministry encompassing the previous agencies of:

In relation to employment, the Ministry aims to provide more jobs and to increase the number of opportunities for New Zealanders to participate in more productive and higher paid work. It does this through a large variety of mechanisms, previously administered by what was then the Department of Labour. Some of MBIE’s major services include:

New Zealand labour law primarily stems from statutes enacted by the New Zealand Parliament. A large series of these statutes combine to form what is known as the minimum rights and entitlements. Each individual Act of Parliament attempts to either: address a different segment of labour rights and obligations entirely, or; may address a smaller portion of labour rights in the subsidiary to some other major legislative theme (for example as with the Privacy Act 2003).

The Employment Relations Act 2000 (the "ER Act") is the most fundamental employment law statute in New Zealand. The ER Act repealed the Employment Contracts Act 1991 (the "ECA"). It enacts a number of core provisions on freedom of association, recognition and operation of unions, collective bargaining, collective agreements, individual employment agreements, employment relations education leave, strikes and lockouts, personal grievances, disputes, enforcement of employment agreements, the Mediation Service, the Employment Court, the Employment Relations Authority and labour inspectors.

Many of the key provisions apply once an employment relationship has begun. This includes a principle duty to act in good faith and to communicate openly. Other provisions operate on an ongoing basis irrespective of the employment relationship and are more declarative (as in the case of trade union operations), or administrative (as in the operation of the Employment Relations Authority) in nature.

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