Employment conditions and protections
Hours, shifts and breaks
Shift work
When can my employer cancel one of my shifts?
Employment Relations Act 2000, s 67G
If your time and days of work are normally organised by shifts or a roster, your employment agreement needs to have a clause that covers what happens if a shift is cancelled. This should specify a reasonable notice period for when a shift is cancelled, and reasonable compensation that your employer will pay you if they don’t give you the right notice. If you’re scheduled to work for a particular shift, your employer can’t cancel it unless they give you the notice in your employment agreement, or pay you the compensation stated in your employment agreement. If your shift is cancelled partway through, you’re entitled to full pay for the whole shift.
What if my employment agreement doesn’t say anything about cancelling shifts?
If your employment agreement doesn’t have a clause dealing with notice and compensation, but your employer cancels a shift anyway, then your employer must pay you what you would have got for working that shift.
