New Employment Relations Amendment Will Provide Flexibility To Retailers

Retail NZ welcomes the passing of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill yesterday, which will help create a more flexible and practical employment framework for retailers.

“We are pleased to see several of our recommendations incorporated into the Bill,” says Retail NZ Chief Executive Carolyn Young.

"This legislation will provide clearer rules on personal grievance remedies, ensuring employees’ serious misconduct is not financially rewarded, and the removal of the 30day rule, which will give employers and workers the freedom to determine employment terms from the outset," Ms Young says.

"The increase to the income threshold for the exemption from personal grievances for unjustified dismissal to $200,000, also ensures it will only apply to genuine highearners with significant bargaining power."

The reforms will be particularly positive for small and underresourced retailers, who often shoulder disproportionately severe consequences when navigating complex employment procedures.

"The new legislation helps rebalance this risk, offering clearer, more proportionate settings that support practical and effective management of workplace issues," Ms Young says.

“Smaller retailers will benefit from a muchneeded reduction in compliance pressure, with clearer rules that allow them to focus on resolving problems early and managing their teams fairly, rather than navigating complex administrative steps."

“We anticipate these reforms will give retailers a clearer and more workable framework for managing employment relationships, enabling them to make commercial decisions with greater certainty,” says Paul Gillespie, Principal - Employment Lawyer at Ford Sumner Lawyers.

“For example, where an employee’s behaviour meets the threshold for serious misconduct, compensatory remedies will no longer be available, keeping the employee accountable,” Mr Gillespie says. “Further, the removal of the 30day rule means that employers now have the flexibility to no longer offer new employees the same terms of employment as a collective employment agreement for that period.”

Retail NZ looks forward to working with officials to ensure the legislation is implemented in a way that is clear, consistent, and practical for retailers of all sizes, and will continue supporting members as the new settings come into effect.

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