Source: PSA
– New law will make it easy for bosses to fire workers at will
– Employment Relations Amendment Bill most anti-worker law in a generation
As 2026 dawns, working New Zealanders will soon face increased job insecurity with a new law coming into force that will give bosses the power to fire workers at will.
When the Employment Relations Amendment Bill becomes law within months it will herald an unprecedented power grab by employers, stripping away fundamental protections that have been the bedrock of fair employment for decades.
“Workers will be more vulnerable than ever before with employers able to undermine personal grievance protections and fire workers effectively at will,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“The Government is again riding roughshod over the rights of workers showing who it really cares about. Increased job insecurity will pile more pressure on families at a time when they are already facing higher prices and a weak job market.”
Workers who want to take a personal grievance would lose the right to compensation if they contributed in any way to the situation – even a minor contribution means no remedy at all, and employers will have no trouble finding a contribution to avoid paying out a worker.
“The right to be reinstated in your job should win a personal grievance case is also being effectively axed. That is fundamentally unfair. Workers who are unjustly fired or mistreated should have the right to be reinstated and face proper remedies.
“This is all done in the name of so called ‘labour market flexibility.’ We all know what that is code for – driving down wages and eroding conditions.
“It’s a solution looking for a problem. Good employers don’t need these powers so all the new law will really do is embolden those employers who don’t value their employees as they should.”
In summary, the changes will:
– mean workers who are legally unfairly dismissed will have no proper remedies if they have contributed to the situation, however minor.
– allow employers to fire at will workers who are unjustifiably dismissed and earn more than $200,000 – they cannot access a personal grievance process for unjustified dismissal.
– remove the provision that automatically enrols new employees in collective agreements for 30 days. This means new workers will risk being exposed to 90-day fire-at-will trials before understanding the protections offered by collective agreements.
– allow employers to deem workers contractors removing their right to holiday and sick pay and means they can be fired at will – the law change written by multi-national ride share company Uber.
“This law speaks to who calls the shots in this government. At every step of the way these past two years, it’s sought to tilt the balance in favour of employers who already have the most power in any employment relationship.
“It’s never been more important for workers to be backed by a strong union.
“In 2026 the PSA will be campaigning loudly and clearly against this new law, reminding working New Zealanders how this government has bent over backwards to strip away their hard-won rights in favour of their business mates.
“This is an election year, and workers will have a clear choice.”
Reminder: the Coalition Government’s crackdown on workers included:
– Cancelling 33 pay equity claims for more than 150,000 women and severely restricted the ability of workers to make future claims
– Axing Fair Pay Agreements that would have boosted pay and improved conditions for low paid workers like supermarket workers and bus drivers
– Reinstating 90-day fire at will laws for all employers
– Plans to reduce sick leave entitlements for part-time workers
– Hitting the pay of low wage workers by consistently reducing the minimum wage in real terms
o April 1, 2024: Increased from $22.70 to $23.15 per hour (45 cents increase, or 2%)
o April 1, 2025: Increased from $23.15 to $23.50 per hour (35 cents increase, or 1.5%)
o April 1, 2026: to increase from $23.50 to $23.90 (45 cents or 1.9%)
This amounts to an increase of $1.25 per hour compared to $3.80 per hour over the last three years of the previous government.
– Ending worker representation on the board of WorkSafe – a practice that had existed since WorkSafe was established following the Pike River Mine disaster.
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.