Employment law – multiple amendments on 1 July 2025
Pay deductions for partial strikes
The Employment Relations (Pay Deductions for Partial Strikes) Amendment Act 2025 received the Royal assent on 30 June 2025 and came into force on 1 July 2025. It amended the following Acts:
- Employment Relations Act 2000 (ss 80, 86A, 90, 93, 100 and 161 amended; new ss 82AA, 95A, 95B, 95C, 95D, 95E, 95F, 95G and sch 1AA cl 23 inserted).
- Wages Protection Act 1983 (s 6 amended).
- Education and Training Act 2020 (ss 586, 587 and 589 amended).
Employment Court fees
Schedule 3 of the Employment Court Regulations 2000 was replaced on 1 July 2025 by reg 4 of the Employment Court Amendment Regulations 2025. The effect was to increase the fees relating to proceedings in the Employment Court by 3.65 per cent.
Parental leave and employment protection
Parental leave payment rates were adjusted on 1 July 2025 under s 71N of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987, and s 71M was updated accordingly.
The 1987 Act was further amended on 1 July 2025 by pt 7 of the Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Act 2025. These amendments affected ss 2BA, 9, 26, 71D, 71J and 71K.
For more on these and other recent developments in employment law, see the Employment Law – What’s New page in Employment Law (online ed, Thomson Reuters) on Westlaw New Zealand.
Kevin Leary is a Senior Legal Editor in the New Zealand Analytical Law team. He has more than 20 years' experience as a Thomson Reuters editor.