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Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill

This Bill was introduced in Parliament on 20 March 2024, and had its first reading on 6 November 2024. This is now with the Select Committee who gathers information and prepares a report on the Bill for the House, including making recommendations for change to the draft Bill.

The Bill was supported by the Labour Party, National Part, Green Party and Te Pāti Māori. ACT and New Zealand First did not support it.

This Bill aims to promote pay transparency and fairness by prohibiting employers from subjecting employees to confidentiality obligations in terms of their employment agreements and their ability to discuss their remuneration with their coworkers.

It seeks to enable any pay discrimination to be more easily identified and remedied. It would allow employees to bring a personal grievance claim against their employer if they are subjected to adverse conduct for a ‘remuneration disclosure reasons’.

Similar laws already exist in the UK, Canada, Australia and some states in America.

We do not know when the Select Committee will have its report returned but further debate is likely to continue in 2025.

If your organisation currently uses pay secrecy or confidentiality clauses in individual employment agreements then you may consider the implications if this Bill passes into law for your business, and what potential documents or systems may need to change.

Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill

This Bill was introduced into Parliament on 7 November 2024 by ACT MP, Laura Trask. It is currently awaiting its first reading, which we anticipate will happen sometime in 2025.

The Bill allows for protected negotiations to occur between an employer and an employee to bring an end to the employment relationship if desired. This would allow the Employer to have such a conversation, if they chose, without risk of the conversation being used for any future personal grievance claims unless certain exemptions apply.

This represents a significant departure from the status quo, particularly allowing employers to have such discussions in a situation where there is no dispute or serious problem necessarily afoot.

Exit discussions, “off the record” or “without prejudice” discussions presently are fraught with risk for employers. This Bill proposes to remove that risk altogether.

Watch this space for more updates as it goes to its first reading.

Disclaimer: We remind you that while this article provides commentary on employment law, health and safety and immigration topics, it should not be used as a substitute for legal or professional advice for specific situations. Please seek legal advice from your lawyer for any questions specific to your workplace.