Workplace issues? Now you can resolve them quickly and easily over the phone.

Workplace issues?

Now you can resolve them quickly and easily over the phone.

The Employment New Zealand’s Early Resolution team is here to help you resolve workplace issues quickly and informally. The team can deal with most problems over the phone and help you find a solution before things get more serious – all at no cost to you.

Work is important for a whole lot of reasons. Of course, it is a way to make money but it also keeps us active both physically and mentally. Our jobs give our lives structure and meaning – what we do for a living is part of who we are. And when we are contributing to society, we feel confident and valued. So if you are being treated unfairly at work, it has a big impact on your life and well-being.

Know your rights

To help protect workers, New Zealand has a number of laws and regulations. These have been put in place to help employers and employees get along and to make sure everyone gets a fair deal. One of the most important parts of New Zealand employment law is a set of minimum standards that employers must meet. As an employee, this gives you rights – things like, you have the right to be safe at work and not discriminated against, bullied or harassed. All workers, regardless of sex, race, religion or political beliefs, have these same rights.

Employers have to act in good faith, meaning they must pay you a minimum wage, give you rest and meal breaks, annual leave, public holidays, and sick leave. There are rules around redundancy and dismissal (being fired or terminated). The law also sets out minimum standards for bereavement and parental leave.

As an employee, you are protected by law even if these standards are not written into your employment agreement, or your agreement tries to offer you less than these minimums. Employers are required to give you an employment agreement. But even if they do not, you are still covered.

You can learn more about your rights and responsibilities as an employee or employer by visiting Employment New Zealand’s website – employment.govt.nz

Resolving issues

If you think your employer is not meeting the minimum standards, or you are being treated unfairly, the first thing to do is speak to your employer. It could be that you can solve the issue just by talking it through. But sometimes you might feel that if you complain, you will put your job at risk. Or that your employer has an advantage over you and there is nothing you can do. Perhaps they do not want to listen even though you know something is not right. If that is the case, you should get in touch with Employment New Zealand.

Early resolution

Employment New Zealand aims to support positive relationships between employers and employees, and to promote safe, fair and productive workplaces.

The new Early Resolution team can help employees and employers resolve workplace issues early, quickly, and informally, before they become serious and need a more formal process. The service is free and confidential – you can talk to the team over the phone.   

The kind of problems they can deal with include disagreements about hours, pay, leave, disciplinary matters, bullying, or COVID related issues.

So now if you have a workplace issue, there’s an easy way to get help.

To get in touch with the Early Resolution team, visit employment.govt.nz/earlyresolution

Employment New Zealand is part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).