Health and safety protections

Mental health at work

Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, s 36

Your employer’s health and safety responsibilities include your mental health and wellbeing at work. Your employer is responsible for monitoring all workers’ health and stress levels, which means keeping an eye on people’s workloads, the types of tasks they are doing, and any physical signs of stress.

Employers are not directly responsible for health and stress concerns from outside of the workplace.

Stress in the workplace

Workplace stress can be caused by factors like:

  • an unreasonable workload, or
  • lack of health and safety precautions against hazards, or
  • workplace bullying, or
  • workplace restructuring, or
  • a toxic work environment.

It is your employer’s responsibility to monitor these factors, but you should tell them directly if you are facing stress at work. Your employer then has an obligation to try and minimise or resolve the issue.

How can my employer help with workplace stress?

Options available to manage your stress could be offering sick leave, providing support like counselling, changing your duties, reducing hours (with your agreement), or moving you to an alternative role (again, with your agreement).

If you’ve raised the issue with your employer and they haven’t done anything about it, you can seek advice from your union or Worksafe.

Note: If you’re experiencing stress outside of the workplace, for example, a relationship breakdown, your employer isn’t responsible for managing that stress, but they may have assistance available to you such as the Employee Assistance Programme.

Workplace bullying

Cases: Kneebone v Schizophrenia Fellowship Waikato Inc (Employment Relations Authority, Akld, AA31/07, 13 Feb 2007) Corbette v UDP Shopfitters Ltd [2012] NZERA Christchurch 151; Rampton v Chief Executive Wellington City Council [2019] NZERA 490201

The courts have generally define workplace bullying as:

  • repeated actions,
  • carried out with the desire to gain power and exert dominance, and
  • carried out with the intention to cause fear and distress.
  • The actions have to be more than just strong management.

WorkSafe New Zealand has best practice guidelines for employers about how to prevent and respond to workplace bullying online, here (or, go to www.worksafe.govt.nz and search “bullying” to find them).

What should I do if I’m being bullied at work?

If you’re being bullied by your manager or employer, you could seek advice from your organisation’s Human Resources manager, Mediation Services at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), WorkSafe New Zealand’s health and safety inspectorate, your union, or your local Community Law Centre.

If you’re being bullied by a co-worker, you need to tell your employer. Once an employer is aware of bullying, they should take reasonable steps to ensure the workplace is safe (see: “What does the duty to do everything ‘reasonably practicable’ mean?”). If your employer doesn’t do this, you may have grounds to raise a personal grievance for unjustified disadvantage.

Because bullying can be hard to prove and can involve a pattern of small or subtle actions over time, it is a good idea to keep a record every time you feel you have been bullied.

Next Section | COVID-19 and work

Did this answer your question?

Employment conditions and protections

Where to go for more support

Community Law

Your local Community Law Centre can provide you with free initial legal advice.

Find your local Community Law Centre online: www.communitylaw.org.nz/our-law-centres

Access the free “Pregnancy Rights: Your legal options before and after pregnancy” booklet. This booklet contains practical answers to questions about pregnancy and the law, and includes information on sexual health and consent, options after a positive pregnancy test, healthcare, education, housing and more.
Online: communitylaw.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Pregnancy-Manual_PDF-for-Web_2021.pdf
Email for a hard copy: publications@wclc.org.nz
Phone: Community Law Wellington and Hutt Valley – 04 499 2928

Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

The Employment website of the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment publishes a range of information on employment relations and minimum rights at work.

Website: www.employment.govt.nz
Phone: 0800 20 90 20
Hours and wages: www.employment.govt.nz/hours-and-wages
Leave and holidays: www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays
Workplace policies: www.employment.govt.nz/workplace-policies

Te Kauae Kaimah/New Zealand Council of Trade Unions

Te Kauae Kaimah is the umbrella body for affiliated unions covering every job and industry in New Zealand. It can provide information about which union may cover the type of work you do.

Website: www.union.org.nz
Email: info@nzctu.org.nz
Phone: (04) 385 1334

Labour inspectorate

Labour inspectors monitor and enforce minimum employment conditions. To refer a problem to a labour inspector, you contact the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment.

Website: www.mbie.govt.nz/position-descriptions/employment-services/labour-inspector-employment-services and www.employment.govt.nz/resolving-problems/steps-to-resolve/labour-inspectorate
Phone: 0800 20 90 20

Mahi Haumaru Aotearoa/Worksafe New Zealand

Worksafe is New Zealand’s primary workplace health and safety regulator.  The website contains a range of information on workplace health and safety.

Phone: 0800 030 040
Notify Worksafe online: www.worksafe.govt.nz/notify-worksafe

Parental leave payments

For more information on parental leave see Inland Revenue’s website.

Website: www.ird.govt.nz/topics/paid-parental-leave

Office of the Ombudsman

The Ombudsman handles complaints about Government agencies. In the employment context, you can make a protected disclosure (known as whistle-blowing).

Website: www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
Email: office@ombudsmen.parliament.nz
Phone: 0800 802 602
Whistle-blowing/protected disclosure information: www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/what-ombudsman-can-help/serious-wrongdoing-work-whistleblowing

To make a complaint online: www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/get-help-public

Also available as a book

The Community Law Manual

The Manual contains over 1000 pages of easy-to-read legal info and comprehensive answers to common legal questions. From ACC to family law, health & disability, jobs, benefits & flats, Tāonga Māori, immigration and refugee law and much more, the Manual covers just about every area of community and personal life.

Buy The Community Law Manual

Help the manual

We’re a small team that relies on the generosity of all our supporters. You can make a one-off donation or become a supporter by sponsoring the Manual for a community organisation near you. Every contribution helps us to continue updating and improving our legal information, year after year.

Donate Become a Supporter

Find the Answer to your Legal Question

back to top