• Includes provisions for employees who are off work as result of work or non-work accidents.

• Imposes limitations on what an employer can ask a job applicant to disclose about their past criminal convictions. Essentially a prospective employee cannot be required to disclose any criminal conviction (except a jail sentence) if it occurred more than 7 years ago. It is also an offence under this Act to require or request an individual to disregard the clean slate legislation.

• Replaces the Education Act 1964 and Education Act 1989, and incorporates two Amendment Acts, the Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Act 2020 and the Education (Pastoral Care) Amendment Act 2019. The Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Act 2020 replaced the former Industry Training and Apprenticeships Act 1992. 

• The purpose of the Act is to establish and regulate an education system that provides students with the skills, knowledge, and capabilities that they need to fully participate in the labour market, society, and their communities; supports their health, safety, and well-being; assures the quality of the education provided and the institutions and educators that provide and support it; and honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and supports Māori-Crown relationships.

• Provides rules and procedures governing the formation and renewal of all employment agreements (individual and collective) covering all wage and salary earners. It also contains rules and procedures for upholding and enforcing the respective employment rights of employers, employees and unions.

• Includes provisions to ensure equal pay for equal work, irrespective of gender.
• Provides a process for raising pay equity claims.

• Employees affected by family violence, may request flexible working arrangements for up to 2 months (under the Employment Relations Act); and are entitled to up to 10 days family violence leave per year (under the Holidays Act).

• Provides for minimum standards of health, safety and welfare in all work places. It defines hazards as including stress and fatigue. The employer must have systems for employee involvement and representation in safety management.

• Provides for four weeks annual holidays, up to 12 public holidays, 10 days sick leave per annum and up to 3 days bereavement leave per occasion.

Prohibits discrimination in employment matters on the basis of:

• Sex (i.e. gender of the employee)
• Marital status (i.e. whether married or un-married, in a civil union etc.)
• Religious belief (i.e. adherence to a religion)
• Ethical belief (i.e. whether agnostic or atheist)
• Colour
• Race
• Ethnic origin
• National origin
• Age
• Disability (physical or intellectual)
• Political opinion (including lack of any particular political opinion)
• Employment status (being unemployed or the recipient of a benefit)
• Family status (whether related to or married to a particular person, responsibility for the care of children etc.)
• Sexual orientation (whether heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian or bisexual)

• Sets out the rights and obligations of employers and employees in respect of the Government-initiated voluntary savings scheme.  Employers deduct money from the earnings of participating employees as retirement savings and make employer contributions to those savings. 

• Sets the minimum legal rate of payment. 
• The minimum Wage is reviewed annually by the Minister of Labour who makes recommendations to the Cabinet on any proposed adjustment. If Cabinet agrees to any change, the new minimum wage is published as a Minimum Wage Order.
• For the current rates view more.

This legislation creates a right for both male and female employees who become parents to certain unpaid leave entitlements as set out below.

• Primary Carer Leave around the time of birth or adoption for up to 26 weeks for qualifying employees. Leave may be commenced up to 6 weeks before the date of birth or adoption at the choice of the employer.
• Special Leave (unpaid) for women of up to 10 days’ unpaid for pregnancy-related reasons such as antenatal classes, scans or midwife appointments.
• Partner's Leave around the time of the birth or adoption of a child of up to two weeks available to the mother’s partner if the 12 months' service criterion is met (or one week if the 6 months' service criterion is met).
• Extended Leave after the birth or adoption of a child, which is leave of up to 52 weeks which can be taken by either partner or shared between them. Note that the 52 weeks entitlement includes any Primary Carer leave and Partner's leave. This leave is only available to those parents who have qualified for leave on the basis of the hours test for the previous 12 months of employment with their employer (if the hours test is satisfied for the previous 6 months, extended leave of up to 26 weeks applies).
• Negotiated Carer Leave.  Employees who will be the primary carer of the child and would meet the work time and hours criteria to receive parental leave payments, but can’t take primary carer leave (because they don’t meet the criteria for parental leave), can request their employer to give them negotiated carer leave.
  
  

Note: Eligible employees may claim up to 26 weeks of their parental leave entitlement as paid leave. The payment, which is funded by the taxpayer through Inland Revenue, can be taken by one parent or shared between two eligible partners.