Employer rights and responsibilities

Employer rights

Employers have . These rights must be used in fair and reasonable ways that comply with employment law.

You have the right to:

• decide how to run your business, including setting wages, allocating resources, and restructuring in certain circumstances
• establish workplace policies and procedures, and consult with employees on these where necessary
• manage your employees, including giving them lawful and reasonable instructions to follow, assigning work and overseeing performance
• be dealt with in good faith and not be misled or deceived by employees
• fidelity (loyalty) from your employees – an employee must act in the best interests of their employer and not undermine the relationship of trust and confidence
• confidentiality – employees have a duty to keep confidential information private, including trade secrets and other sensitive data, both during and after employment
• protect your intellectual property
• take action during collective bargaining if certain criteria are met
• appropriately manage performance issues and misconduct, including taking disciplinary action if needed
• dismiss an employee if you have followed a fair and proper process.

Workplace policies and procedures

Restructuring and workplace change

Managing performance issues

Dismissal

Employer responsibilities

As an employer, you must provide work to your employees and give them their minimum employment rights.

These rights apply even if they are not written into an . They cannot be reduced, taken away or traded off for other things.

You also have responsibilities around record-keeping and acting in good faith.

Employment agreement

You must:

• give your employees a written employment agreement, also known as a contract, and keep it up to date
• allow employees to get advice or support from someone they trust before they sign the agreement.

Employment agreements

Pay and wages

You must:

• pay your employees at least the minimum wage for each hour they work, including overtime, if they are 16 years or older
• pay your employees in cash, unless they’ve agreed to receive it a different way, like by direct credit
• not take (deduct) money from your employees’ wages unless:
  • it’s required by law (for example, tax and student loan payments), or
  • it’s lawful, reasonable, and the employee has asked for or agreed to it in writing
• not ask for or receive money from an employee to give them or keep them in a job (this is called charging a ‘premium’)
• not tell your employees where or how to spend their pay.

Pay and wages

Breaks

You must:

• give your employees regular rest and meal breaks:
  • for an 8-hour day: 2 paid 10-minute rest breaks and 1 unpaid 30-minute meal break
  • for a 6-hour day: 1 paid 10-minute rest break and 1 unpaid 30-minute meal break
• provide appropriate facilities and breaks for employees who want to breastfeed at work.

Rest and breaks

Holidays and leave

You must:

• give your employees 4 weeks of paid annual holidays after they’ve worked for you continuously for 12 months (unless they qualify for and agree to pay-as-you-go holiday pay)
• give your employees 12 paid public holidays if they fall on a day they would usually work (unless their employment agreement says they have to work)
• pay employees at least time-and-a-half for working on a public holiday
• give your employees a paid alternative holiday if they’ve worked on a public holiday and it’s a day they would usually work
• give your employees 10 days of paid sick leave each year, after they’ve worked for you for 6 months either continuously or for enough hours
• give your employees 3 days of paid bereavement leave for certain family members (and 1 day for other bereavements), after they’ve worked for you for 6 months either continuously or for enough hours
• give your employees 10 days of paid family violence leave each year, after they’ve worked for you for 6 months either continuously or for enough hours
• give your employees parental leave to care for a new child if they meet the work requirements
• give your employees leave for jury service.

Leave and holidays

Safe and fair workplace

You must:

• provide a workplace that is healthy and safe, with proper training, supervision and equipment
• not demand to keep an employee’s passport
• provide a workplace that is free from bullying, harassment and unlawful discrimination
• not treat employees adversely (badly or unfairly) at work, for example:
  • dismissing an employee without good reason
  • paying an employee less than others for doing the same, or similar, work because of their sex
  • taking action against an employee because they made a protected disclosure (whistleblowing)
  • breaking the terms of the employment agreement or not giving employees their legal employment rights.

General requirements for workplaces – WorkSafe(external link)

Bullying, harassment and discrimination

Flexible working

Employees can ask for flexible work arrangements at any time, for example, changes to their hours, days or place of work.

You must:

• consider any requests for flexible working arrangements
• reply within the required timeframe
• only say ‘no’ for certain reasons (‘recognised business’ or ‘non-accommodation’ grounds).

Responding to a flexible working request

Union membership

You must allow your employees to join a union if they want to, without any pressure from anyone to join or not join.

Union membership

Redundancy, work changes or restructuring

You must talk to your employees in good faith if there will be any changes to the workplace that could negatively affect their hours or role, for example:

• changes to their current employment agreement, like fewer hours or days of work
• restructuring
• redundancy.

The basics of workplace change

Redundancy

Record-keeping

You must keep complete and accurate records of your employees’ wages, time, holidays and leave. Employees can ask to see their employment records at any time.

Record-keeping

Act in good faith

You and your employees must deal with each other in good faith. This includes being open, honest and responsive towards each other.

Good faith

You must also follow a fair process and have a good reason for any action you take against an employee.

Fair process

Good reason

Negotiating better terms

You can give your employees better terms and conditions than their minimum employment rights, for example 5 weeks of annual holidays instead of 4.

If you do this, you must honour those terms.

Find examples of negotiated better terms and conditions here:

Employee rights and responsibilities