While broadly welcomed by business, the new bill has been condemned by trades unions and Māori representatives.
New Zealand’s government has today (17 June) introduced the Employment Relations Amendment Bill (the bill) to Parliament. Led by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden, the new legislative package recalibrates the balance between labour market flexibility and employment protections under the Employment Relations Act 2000 and is emblematic of the National–ACT coalition's efforts to provide employers with greater certainty, while critics warn it significantly erodes worker rights.
At its core, the bill addresses four intertwined policy objectives: clarifying the line between employees and independent contractors, reshaping personal grievances procedures, establishing a cap on eligibility for unjustified dismissal claims, and removing the so‑called 30‑day rule for new entrants under collective agreements.
The bill proposes a statutory gateway test to define when a working relationship constitutes employment rather than contracting – a clarification aimed squarely at reducing ambiguity in modern gig‑economy arrangements, with the objective of offering both employers and contractors a clearer legal framework from the outset. However, opponents caution that any new definition may pre-empt ongoing legal proceedings – in particular, an imminent Supreme Court case regarding Uber drivers.
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