Managing employment issues Te whakahaere take whai mahi

Any employee can lodge a personal grievance against you if they feel that they’ve been:

• dismissed without justification
• disadvantaged by an action you’ve taken
• discriminated against
• sexually harassed – either by someone in authority or by a co-worker
• racially harassed
• pressured into joining or leaving a union or other employee organisation
• disadvantaged, dismissed or forced to retire or resign for a remuneration disclosure reason.

Employees must raise the grievance within 90 days of whichever is later of the following:

• the date the incident took place
• the date they first became aware of the incident.

Sexual harassment

Employees must raise a sexual harassment grievance within 12 months of whichever is later of the following:

• the date the incident took place
• the date they first became aware of the incident. 

This only applies if the alleged sexual harassment happened on or after 13 June 2023. If it happened before 13 June 2023, the 90-day rule applies.

Remuneration disclosure

Examples of a remuneration disclosure include an employee:

• receiving an inquiry about their own pay
• receiving a disclosure about someone else’s pay
• discussing their own or someone else’s pay.

An employee can only lodge a personal grievance related to a remuneration disclosure if they were disadvantaged, dismissed or forced to retire or resign after 27 August 2025. But the inquiry, disclosure or discussion may have happened before this date. 

How to raise a grievance

There’s no official way to raise the grievance – employees can do it in writing or face-to-face – but it must be sufficiently clear to make the employer aware that there is a grievance.

There are two ways to try and resolve a personal grievance case before it escalates. You can contact Employment New Zealand to get professional advice before you take action.

Internal dispute resolution

Like any other problem in the workplace, the first step to resolving a dispute is to meet with the person (or people) involved. 

Before the meeting:

• make sure your employee knows they can bring a support person – like a friend or partner, a lawyer or a union representative
• you can invite your own lawyer or industry association representative
• set up the meeting with enough time to prepare beforehand and choose a time when you won’t be rushed
• make sure the meeting takes place in a location where you’ll have privacy
• take notes of everything that’s discussed and share them afterwards with all parties. 

During the meeting:

• be clear about the facts – make sure the problem isn’t based on an assumption or a misunderstanding.
• talk to each other – you’re both responsible for this
• discuss the problem fully so that everyone understands exactly what happened and how
• consider whether you need help to resolve the problem
• if you can’t resolve the issue internally, your next step is to seek mediation.

Mediation services

You can either use the free mediation service from Employment Mediation Services or find an independent mediator.

Mediators are independent people who are professionally trained to help parties resolve conflict. They can also help each party identify and discuss the issues before they agree on a solution that meets both their needs. Mediation is not always done in face-to-face meetings. Your mediator can recommend what is best for your situation. 

The Employment Relations Authority (ERA) is an independent body that makes decisions on employment relationship problems and personal grievances.

If an employee believes they have a personal grievance case against you and you can’t resolve it either internally or through mediation, they can file with the ERA. 

You can also go to the ERA with an employment problem such as recovery of money from an employee.

After investigating, the ERA can take different actions, including:

• referring the matter for further mediation
• dismissing the case
• ordering you to reinstate the employee, pay them lost wages, or pay compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings.

The ERA can also order you to cover your employee’s costs, or vice versa, if cost claims are lodged in writing.

If you’re unhappy with an ERA decision, you can take your case to the Employment Court. This isn’t an appeal.

They will open a new case and hold a full judicial hearing.

Like the ERA, the Court may refer your case back to a mediator.

The Employment Court process is complicated, so you should get help from someone with Employment Court expertise, like a lawyer.