The Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill explained
On 29 October 2025, the Education and Workforce Select Committee (Select Committee) presented its report on the Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill (Bill).
The Bill was introduced to the House in November 2024 and it proposed a new concept called “pre-termination negotiations” (Negotiations). This concept is different from the proposed wage and salary threshold for exempting employees who earn $180,000 or more per year from filing unjustified dismissal personal grievance claims.
If enacted, the Bill would allow protected discussions regarding the potential termination of employment to take place (regardless of whether a current dispute exists between an employee and employer) without this giving rise to a personal grievance.
Aotearoa New Zealand currently follows the same model as Australia and Canada —providing legislative protection to “without prejudice” conversations only where there is an existing employment dispute. Therefore, if enacted, the Bill would bring Aotearoa New Zealand's approach more in line with the United Kingdom, which has implemented a “protected conversation” regime for over a decade, which permits negotiations to terminate an employee’s employment without the need for a dispute (subject to certain safeguards).
The Select Committee’s report has largely rewritten the Bill. The report focuses, for the most part, on...
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