[CLSTR]
< Back to situation

[REVISION HISTORY]

New Zealand employment law reforms

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-07-29 21:10 UTC → 2026-07-29 23:41 UTC · added removed

In early June 2026 a PSA‑commissioned poll showed most New Zealanders believed the proposed Employment Leave Bill favoured employers, with part‑time workers skeptical of any benefit. The government then also passed the Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill, reversing many 2015‑Act changes, Bill and approved the Mental Health (Compulsory Care and Treatment) Bill, tightening safeguards and ending seclusion for young people. The Bill. After a select‑committee review, the Employment Leave Bill was returned from the select committee on 15 July with only minor amendments, preserving an hourly accrual system for holiday, sick, bereavement and family‑violence leave and a two‑year transition period for employers to adjust payroll. The legislation moved to its second and third readings with the government aiming for passage before the November election. employers. On 29 July the bill was enacted, replacing repealing the complex Holidays Act with a simpler, hours‑based framework. The new law ties leave accrual 2003. Leave now accrues in direct proportion to an employee’s standard hours, applies is payable at a single hourly rate for paying leave, and grants entitlement entitles workers from day one of work. Business groups praised the certainty it provides employment. A 12.5 % Leave Compensation Payment replaces traditional accrual for additional and the casual hours, and employees may cash up to 25 % of their total annual leave each year. The law mandates pay statements that itemise leave and provides a 24‑month implementation window for payroll systems and systems, with an extra year to amend employment agreements. BusinessNZ chief executive Katherine Rich and EMA advocacy head Alan McDonald hailed the reform as ending a two‑decade “headache”. Health New Zealand reported about NZ$961 million in leave‑calculation errors affecting roughly 220,000 staff, while the labour inspectorate recovered over NZ$237 million for more than 22,700 employees between 2015 and 2020.

Versions

  1. 2026-07-29 23:41 UTC New Zealand employment law reforms
  2. 2026-07-29 21:10 UTC New Zealand employment law reforms

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.