Employment conditions and protections
Your minimum rights and protections at work
What this chapter covers
- Your pay
Minimum wage rates, overtime pay, equal pay, and when and how wages are paid - Hours, shifts and breaks
Information about the standard working week, zero-hour contracts and availability (“on call”) clauses, when your shifts can be cancelled, and your rights to rest and meal breaks - Holidays and annual leave
Your rights to a certain number of weeks of annual holidays (often called “annual leave”), and to public holidays like Christmas and Anzac Day (sometimes called “statutory” holidays) - Sick leave and other short-term leave
Sick leave, bereavement leave and family violence leave - Parental leave
The laws around different types of parental leave, how much paid parental leave you can get and how your job’s protected while you’re on leave - Flexible working
The law about flexible working arrangements (including when and where you work), and special short-term flexibility for family violence victims - Health and safety protections
Your employer’s legal responsibilities for health and safety in the workplace - Whistle-blower protections (“Protected disclosures”)
How the law protects employees who give out information about serious wrongdoing by their employer - Where to go for more support
Other information and resources
COVID-19 vaccinations and employment law
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Zealand government has introduced mandatory vaccines for some workers. See, “COVID 19 and employment law” for information on COVID-19 vaccination mandates and employment law.
