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Every employee must have a written employment agreement. It can be either an individual agreement or a collective agreement.
There are some provisions that must be included in employment agreements by law, and there are also a number of minimum conditions that must be met regardless of whether they are included in agreements. Employment law also provides a framework for negotiating additional entitlements.
This section looks at the rules governing employment relationships in New Zealand under the Employment Relations Act 2000 from the start of the relationship, through to how it is formalised in an employment agreement and how it can end.
The Employment Agreement Builder
The Employment Agreement Builder can help you to put together a draft employment agreement for your employee. It clearly shows you which clauses are compulsory, which clauses reflect minimum conditions that the employee is entitled to regardless of their inclusion in their employment agreement, and which clauses can be included voluntarily to meet the needs of you and your employee.
The key to this information is to use it as a starting point to establish conditions that best suit your particular relationship and the employment agreement.
If you've already got an agreement but you'd like to know more about it, we've also created the
Employment Agreement Guide (Opens in a new window).
This reference guide contains clauses you're likely to find in a typical agreement, and provides you with common uses, rules and definitions.
Covering letters
You can also customise and download a range of covering letters to send out with your employment agreement. These letters cover the range of circumstances that the Employment Relations Act requires employers to address when offering employment.
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Good faith
The Employment Relations Act 2000 has “good faith” as its central
principle. This means that employers, employees and unions must deal
with one another honestly and openly.
Specifically, the Act:
- promotes good employment relations and mutual respect and confidence
between employers, employees, and unions
- sets the environment for individual and collective employment
relationships
- sets out requirements for the negotiation and content of collective
and individual employment agreements
- provides prompt and flexible options for resolving problems in
employment relationships.
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Booklet
We have produced a comprehensive booklet about how to hire staff. You can get a printed copy by using our online order form.
Who needs this information?
- Anyone who has a paid job or who employs other people in paid
work
- Anyone intending to work or who has a new job
- Employers who want to know what they have to do when employing new staff
- Those negotiating new employment agreements
- Anyone who wants to know what can be included in employment agreements
- Anyone who needs information when an employment relationship
ends, such as in the event of dismissal, redundancy, retirement
or resignation.
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Further information & guidance
We welcome the opportunity to help you further. If you can’t find an answer to your question, or you want further clarification, more detailed information or guidance on any matter covered here, check the Department of Labour’s FAQ Knowledgebase.
Disclaimer
The content of this document covers common problems. It will not answer every question and should not be used as a substitute for legislation or legal advice.
The Department of Labour takes no responsibility for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information on this website, nor for any errors or omissions.
Copyright
Material featured on this site is subject to Crown copyright protection unless otherwise indicated.
The Crown copyright protected material may be reproduced free of charge in any format or media without requiring specific permission. This is subject to the material being reproduced accurately and not being used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. Where the material is being published or issued to others, the source and copyright status should be acknowledged.
The permission to reproduce Crown copyright protected material does not extend to any material on this site that is identified as being the copyright of a third party. Authorisation to reproduce such material should be obtained from the copyright holders concerned.
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This page was last
updated on:
11-Dec-2009
and is current.
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