Employer Bulletin | 23 February 2026
Here's what is leading the news for employers this week:
The Employment Relations Amendment Bill has passed its third reading, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says.
“This Bill is about backing business to hire with increased confidence.”
The Act will:
- Clarify contractor vs employee status with a four part ‘gateway test’ to ensure businesses and workers have more clarity from the start of their contracting arrangement.
- Ensure accountability for serious misconduct and poor behaviour which means the law stops pay-outs that financially reward employees for serious misconduct.
- Set an income threshold of $200,000 for unjustified dismissal personal grievances, enmployers to give workers a go in these high impact positions, without having to risk a costly and disruptive dismissal process if things don’t work out.
- Restore freedom for workers to negotiate their employment agreements from day one by removing the 30-day rule. This means employers and workers can agree on their own terms from the first day on the job.
In today’s Bulletin:
- Court overturns Authority to find no constructive dismissal
- Authority orders employee to not upload work material to AI
- Exceptional circumstances allow grievance to proceed out of time
- Authority imposes penalty for failing to abide by settlement terms
- Employer fails to establish its conversations were without-prejudice
- Eight news updates of interest for employers including:
- Reform brings more flexibility for workers and confidence for employers
- Government to clarify welfare and ACC payments
- Business price indexes: December 2025 quarter
- Active Investor Plus delivers $3 billion in investment in New Zealand
- Annual food prices increase 4.6 percent
- Taking cash off criminals to protect New Zealanders
- Five Bills Open for submission
If you have any questions, about this case or other employment relation matters, call the Advice Line team on 0800 800 362.
