# Employer rights and responsibilities Official source: https://www.employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/rights-and-responsibilities/employer-rights-and-responsibilities Scanned: 2026-06-07T03:31:31.402Z Use this as a current official guidance reference, not as a substitute for legal advice. ## Page Text Home Starting employment Rights and responsibilities Employer rights and responsibilities Rights and responsibilities Starting employment Rights and responsibilities Employee rights and responsibilities Minimum rights of employees - language translations Employer rights and responsibilities Good faith Fair process Good reason Record-keeping Types of worker Hiring Employment agreements Employers Employer rights and responsibilities Learn about your rights as an employer and the minimum employment rights you must give your employees. What are employer rights All employers have employment rights Legal rights that employers and employees have which protect how they are treated at work and promote fairness in the workplace. They include acting in good faith, being active and constructive in maintaining the employment relationship, and following employment laws and lawful terms in the employment agreement. . You must use these rights in fair and reasonable ways that follow employment law. You have the right to: decide how to run your business, including: setting wages allocating resources, and restructuring in certain circumstances establish workplace policies and procedures, and consult with employees on these where necessary manage your employees, including: giving them lawful and reasonable instructions to follow assigning work, and overseeing performance protect your intellectual property take action during collective bargaining if certain criteria are met appropriately manage performance issues and misconduct, including taking disciplinary action if needed dismiss an employee if you have followed all the dismissal rules add a clause in the employment agreement that stops the employee from working for someone else, if you have a genuine reason to do this. Workplace policies and procedures Restructuring and workplace change Managing performance issues Dismissal You also have the right for your employee to: deal with you in good faith and not mislead or deceive you act in your best interests and not undermine the relationship of trust and confidence keep confidential information private during and after their employment, including trade secrets and other sensitive data. Hiring your first employee If you’re employing your first employee, read our information for new employers: Hiring your first employee What are employer responsibilities As an employer, you must: provide work to your employees, and give them their rights by law — these are called minimum employment rights. Minimum employment rights cover: employment agreements pay and wages breaks holidays and leave safe and fair workplaces flexible working union membership redundancy, work changes or restructuring record keeping acting in good faith. You must give your employee their minimum employment rights even if they are not written into an employment agreement The employment agreement between an employee and an employer. Also see ‘Employment agreement’. . They cannot be reduced, taken away or traded off for other things. Who employers have to give minimum employment rights to All employees are entitled to minimum employment rights. There are some employment rights that certain employees do not have when they are being dismissed — that is employees who: earn $200,000 or more a year (unless they have opted back in to dismissal protections), or are on a trial period. For more information, see: Dismissal rules for high income earners Trial periods Contractors and volunteers Contractors (self-employed people) and volunteers are not employees so do not have minimum employment rights. This is because they do not have rights under employment law. They have rights under different laws instead, for example rights under the: Human Rights Act 1993 Privacy Act 2020 Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and Contracts and Commercial Law Act 2017. Details of minimum employment rights Below are the details of the minimum employment rights you must give your employee. Employment agreements You must: give your employees a written employment agreement, also known as a contract, and keep it up to date allow employees to get advice or support from someone they trust before they sign the agreement. Employment agreements Pay and wages You must: pay your employees at least the minimum wage for each hour they work, including overtime, if they are 16 years or older pay your employees in cash, unless they’ve agreed to receive it a different way, like by direct credit (the bank account must be in their name) not take (deduct) money from your employees’ wages unless: it’s lawful it's reasonable, and they asked for or agreed to it in writing, or it's required by law (for example, tax and student loan payments) not ask for or receive money from an employee to give them or keep them in a job (this is called charging a ‘premium’) not tell your employees where or how to spend their pay. Pay and wages Breaks You must give your employee regular rest breaks and meal breaks. Rest breaks must be paid. How many breaks you give your employee and how long they are depends on how many hours they've worked. For example, for an 8-hour day, you should give your employee: 2 paid 10-minute rest breaks, and 1 unpaid 30-minute meal break. For example, for a 6-hour day, you should give your employee: 1 paid 10-minute rest break, and 1 unpaid 30-minute meal break. If your employee wants to breastfeed or express milk, you must provide extra breaks and appropriate facilities. Rest and breaks Holidays and leave There are types of leave you must give your employee once they have worked for you for a certain amount of time. Type of leave You must give your employee: After your employee has worked for you for: Annual holidays 4 weeks a year 12 months continuously (unless they qualify for, and agree to, pay-as-you-go holiday) Sick leave 10 days a year (that can be carried over to a maximum of 20 days) 6 months continuously or for the required number of hours Bereavement leave 3 days for immediate family members and 1 day for other bereavements 6 months continuously or for the required number of hours Family violence leave 10 days a year 6 months continuously or for the required number of hours For more information about each of these leave types and what employees are entitled to, see: Taking annual holidays Taking sick leave Taking bereavement leave Taking family violence leave Public holidays There are 12 public holidays each year. You must pay your employee for a public holiday if it falls on a day they would usually work. If your employee works on a public holiday, you must: pay them at least time-and-a-half, and give them a paid alternative holiday if it falls on a day they would usually work. Public holidays Parental leave and jury service You must give your employee: up to 52 weeks' parental leave to care for a new child if they meet the work requirements unpaid leave for jury service. Taking parental leave Jury service leave Safe and fair workplace You must: provide a workplace that is healthy and safe, with proper training, supervision and equipment not demand to keep an employee’s passport provide a workplace that is free from bullying, harassment and unlawful discrimination not treat employees adversely (badly or unfairly) at work, for example: dismissing an employee without following the rules for dismissal paying an employee less than others for doing the same, or similar, work because of their sex taking action against an employee because they made a protected disclosure (whistleblowing) breaking the terms of the employment agreement or not giving employees their legal employment rights. General requirements for workplaces – WorkSafe (external link) Bullying, harassment and discrimination Dismissal Flexible working Employees can ask for flexible work arrangements at any time. For example, changes to their hours, days or place of work. You must: consider any requests for flexible working arrangements reply within the required timeframe only say ‘no’ for certain reasons (‘recognised business’ or ‘non-accommodation’ grounds). Responding to a flexible working request Union membership You must allow your employees to join a union if they want to, without any pressure from anyone to join or not join. Union membership Redundancy, work changes or restructuring You must talk to your employees in good faith An underlying principle in employment law which requires employers and employees to deal with each other honestly, openly, and in a fair and timely way. if there will be any changes to the workplace that could negatively affect their hours or role, for example: changes to their current employment agreement, like fewer hours or days of work restructuring redundancy. The basics of workplace change Redundancy Record-keeping You must keep complete and accurate records of your employees’ wages, time, holidays and leave. For example: when your employee worked how long your employee worked for (for example, the number of hours), and what your employee's wages were. Employees can ask to see their employment records at any time. Record-keeping Act in good faith You and your employees must deal with each other in good faith. This includes being open, honest and responsive towards each other. Good faith In most cases, you must also follow a fair process and have a good reason for any action you take against an employee. Fair process Good reason Negotiating better rights for your employee You can give your employees better terms and conditions than their minimum employment rights. For example 5 weeks of annual holidays instead of 4. If you do this, you must honour those terms. Find examples of negotiated better terms and conditions here: Employee rights and responsibilities Learn about your rights and responsibilities in our learning modules Watch our Employment Learning Modules to learn about your rights and responsibilities. They're free to access. Online learning Published: 18 December 2023 Last modified: 8 April 2026 Written for: Employers Share this page: Print this page: