Personal Grievance NZ: NZ Employment Rules & Practical Guide

A personal grievance is the formal legal claim an employee can bring against a current or former employer under the Employment Relations Act 2000. Timing is strict. Most grievances must be raised with the employer within 90 days, and missing that window can end a claim before it starts, whatever its merits.

Quick answer

A personal grievance is a complaint that an employer has acted unjustifiably or unlawfully in one of the ways listed in section 103 of the Act: unjustifiable dismissal, unjustifiable disadvantage, discrimination, sexual harassment, racial harassment, duress over membership or non-membership of a union or employees organisation, and further grounds described below.

You raise one by making sure your employer understands a grievance has been raised, what it is about, and why. Do it in writing if you can, and in time: within 90 days of the action complained about, or of the date you became aware of it, whichever is later. For sexual harassment the period is 12 months. If direct talks fail, MBIE’s Employment Mediation Services can help free of charge. If mediation does not resolve it, the Employment Relations Authority can investigate and make a binding decision, with remedies that can include reinstatement, reimbursement of lost wages and compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings.

Two newer rules matter in 2026. Employees whose annual remuneration is $200,000 or more have lost most dismissal protections, subject to a transition to 21 February 2027 and any written agreement to opt back in. Where an employee’s own behaviour contributed to the situation, the Authority or Court cannot order reinstatement or compensation for humiliation and related loss, and must award no remedies at all if that behaviour amounted to serious misconduct.

What counts as a personal grievance

Section 103 sets out the grounds. A grievance is not a general complaint about work being difficult. It has to fit one of the statutory grounds.

Unjustifiable dismissal

The employee says they were dismissed without a good reason, or through an unfair process, or both. Section 113 provides that the personal grievance process is the only way to challenge a dismissal in a court. The test in section 103A looks at the decision and how the employer made it: what could a fair and reasonable employer have done in the circumstances?

A dismissed employee can ask for a written statement of the reasons for dismissal, up to 60 days after finding out about it. The employer must provide it within 14 days of the request. Failing to provide that statement when asked is one of the exceptional circumstances that can support raising a grievance late.

Constructive dismissal sits inside this ground. Sometimes an employee resigns because the employer’s conduct has made staying untenable, for example where a serious disadvantage complaint was left unaddressed. Get advice before writing the letter, because wording and timing matter. Our guide to writing a resignation letter in NZ covers resigning properly.

Unjustifiable disadvantage

The employee’s employment, or one or more conditions of it, has been affected to their disadvantage by unjustifiable action by the employer: action that disadvantaged them and was not what a fair and reasonable employer could have done, or was not done in good faith. Employment New Zealand’s examples include an employer failing to deal with a bullying, harassment or health and safety issue the employee raised, withdrawing work without justification, demoting the employee into a lower paid job, suspending them unlawfully and without pay, transferring them without consultation, or giving an unjustified warning. A related ground covers an employer failing to meet obligations about continuity of employment when employees are affected by restructuring, under Part 6A.

Discrimination, harassment and duress

Discrimination means the employee was discriminated against in their employment on a prohibited ground. Sexual harassment and racial harassment are separate grounds, with provisions covering behaviour by the employer, by a representative of the employer, or by other people at work where the employer has not taken steps to prevent repetition. Duress covers pressure over membership or non-membership of a union or an employees organisation.

The other section 103 grounds

The list has grown over time. Employment New Zealand’s current summary includes further grounds catching specific kinds of unfair treatment:

• Being disadvantaged because the employer has not met legal requirements about agreed hours of work, availability provisions, reasonable notice before cancelling a shift, reasonable compensation for a cancelled shift, or secondary employment provisions.
• Being treated unfairly for lawfully refusing to work in certain circumstances.
• Being treated unfairly because the employee was believed to be affected by family violence.
• Adverse conduct for a remuneration disclosure reason, such as discussing pay or asking about someone else’s pay.
• Adverse conduct for a prohibited health and safety reason, or because the employee was asked not to perform a function or role under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
• Retaliatory action after the employee made a protected disclosure.
• Employment not being protected during Reserve Forces service or training, or during jury service.
• A shop employee being compelled to work on Easter Sunday, or treated adversely for refusing.

An employee in a triangular arrangement, such as labour hire where a third party directs the day to day work, can bring a grievance against their employer and, where the third party’s actions contributed, can seek to have that controlling third party added to the claim. For discrimination and harassment complaints there may also be an avenue under the Human Rights Act 1993 through the Human Rights Commission.

The 90-day rule, and the 12-month rule for sexual harassment

Section 114 sets the notification period. A grievance must be raised with the employer within 90 days, beginning with the date the action alleged to amount to the grievance occurred or came to the employee’s notice, whichever is later. If you were dismissed, the clock runs from the end of your employment. For sexual harassment, the period is 12 months from when it happened or from when the employee became aware of it, whichever is later.

No particular form is required. What matters is that the employer understands a grievance has been raised and why. Employment New Zealand advises stating the complaint and reasons clearly, with enough detail to respond to, and doing it in writing. Keep a copy. If you raise it verbally, both sides should take notes, in case there is a dispute later about whether, and when, it was raised. Once a grievance has been raised in time, the employee has 3 years after first raising it with the employer to lodge a claim with the Authority.

What employers must tell employees about the time limits

Every employment agreement must contain a plain language explanation of the services available for resolving employment relationship problems, and that explanation must refer to the section 114 period: 90 days for most grievances, 12 months for sexual harassment. If your template agreement carries an old problems clause, or says nothing about the time limits, update it.

Raising a grievance late: the narrow exceptions

Outside the period, a grievance can proceed only if the employer agrees to it being raised late, or the Authority grants leave because the delay was caused by exceptional circumstances and it is just to allow it to proceed. Section 115 lists the circumstances that count. Employment New Zealand summarises them as including the employee’s agent or representative failing to raise it in time, the employee being unable to raise it because of health issues caused by the grievance itself, the agreement not explaining the problem resolution services or not stating the notification period, and the employer failing to provide a statement of reasons for dismissal when asked. Anyone near or past the deadline should get advice the same week, not the same month.

Trial periods and personal grievances

A trial period under sections 67A and 67B is a separate clock, often confused with the 90-day grievance period.

Since 23 December 2023, all employers can use trial periods, whatever their size. A trial can last no more than 90 calendar days, can only be used for an employee who has not worked for the employer before, and must run from the start of the employment.

To be valid, the agreement must state that the employee will be on a trial from the very start, how long it lasts, that the employer can dismiss the employee during it, and that the employee cannot raise a personal grievance or bring other legal proceedings about that dismissal. The employee must agree to it, have a reasonable chance to get independent advice, and sign before starting work. Starting before signing makes the trial invalid, and a trial cannot override a collective agreement that prohibits one.

If a valid trial applies and notice of dismissal is given during it, the usual dismissal protections do not apply: no good reason, fair process, information and comment before deciding, or written reasons are required. Notice must still be given, the notice in the agreement or a reasonable period if it is silent, within the trial period, even though the last working day can fall after it ends. Two good faith principles still apply: do not mislead or deceive, and be responsive and communicative.

An employee dismissed under a trial provision can still raise a grievance on other grounds, such as discrimination, harassment, duress, or disadvantage not relating to the dismissal. Where the trial was never valid, because notice was not given as the agreement required, the employee started before signing, there was no reasonable chance to take advice, or the agreement never mentioned a trial, the Authority can treat it as invalid and the dismissal can be challenged normally. Probation is different: it does not remove the right to bring a grievance.

High income earners: the $200,000 threshold

A further set of dismissal rules took effect on 21 February 2026 for employees earning at or over a remuneration threshold of $200,000 a year. Where it applies, the same dismissal protections fall away as under a trial period. The employer does not have to follow a fair process or have a good reason, give information and a chance to comment, or provide written reasons on request. The employee cannot raise a grievance for unjustifiable dismissal, or for unjustifiable disadvantage relating to dismissal, but can still raise one on any other ground. Employers must still not mislead or deceive, must be responsive and communicative, and must give the notice in the agreement or a reasonable period of notice. The parties can agree in writing to opt back in to the protections, or negotiate their own dismissal terms, such as longer notice.

Income for the threshold is PAYE income paid by the employer, including salary or wages, allowances, overtime, bonuses, cashed in annual leave, back pay and employee share scheme benefits, among the items Employment New Zealand lists. It excludes accident compensation earnings, employer superannuation payments unless paid as salary and wages, certain reimbursements, and fringe benefit tax items such as a vehicle available for private use.

A transition applies. An employee dismissed before 21 February 2027 can still raise a dismissal grievance if, when dismissed, they were in the same job they held immediately before 21 February 2026, or in a different job because of a restructure, and they raise it within 90 days of the dismissal. The parties can also agree in writing that the new rules start earlier.

Good faith: the obligation underneath everything

The Act is built on good faith. Employers, employees and unions must deal with each other in good faith: not acting in a misleading or deceptive way, being responsive and communicative, and, where a decision may affect the continuation of employment, giving the employee access to relevant information and a genuine opportunity to comment before the decision is made.

That is why process matters. A dismissal for a genuinely serious reason can still be unjustifiable if the employer withheld the allegations, rushed the meeting, denied a support person, or had made up its mind beforehand. Employees are entitled to a support person or representative in these processes. Once a grievance is raised, the employer should acknowledge it, clarify what is alleged, investigate where needed, and respond with reasons. Silence, delay and retaliation convert manageable problems into Authority claims.

Step by step: raising a grievance as an employee

1. Check the ground and the date. Identify which section 103 ground fits, then count the days.
2. Gather your records: agreement, payslips, rosters, letters, meeting notes, emails and your own dated notes. Employers must keep wage, time, holiday and leave records, and employees can ask to see their own.
3. Raise it in writing. State that you are raising a personal grievance, what happened, when, who was involved, which ground you rely on, and what outcome you seek. Keep a copy and proof of sending.
4. Try to resolve it directly first where you safely can. Many grievances settle with an apology, a corrected record, back pay, or agreed changes to duties.
5. Use the free services. Early Resolution is Employment New Zealand’s free, impartial, phone based service for sorting problems out early. Employment Mediation Services, provided by MBIE, is the next step if talks stall.
6. If it is still unresolved, file in the Authority within the 3-year period described above.

If you have left the job, look after the practical side in parallel. A dismissed employee job hunting again will find our NZ CV template a useful starting point, and none of that weakens a claim.

Step by step: responding as an employer

1. Do not ignore it. Acknowledge receipt in writing, note the date, and check timing early. If it is late, take advice before asserting that, because the exceptional circumstances rules may apply against you, particularly if your agreement omitted the required explanation of the time limits.
2. Preserve the records. Contemporaneous documents decide these cases: the agreement, warnings, investigation notes, rosters, time and wage records, and correspondence around the decision.
3. Investigate properly where facts are disputed. Put the allegations to the person concerned, allow a support person or representative, listen with an open mind, and only then decide.
4. Respond with reasons, and propose a remedy if the grievance has substance.
5. Take mediation seriously. It is free, confidential, and far cheaper than an Authority investigation even when you win.
6. Review the system afterwards. Fix the agreement template, checklist, or manager training that produced the problem. Insurance can respond to some employment liability costs depending on the policy, but it does not fix a defective process, and cover varies widely. Our overview of business insurance in NZ explains the main types of cover small employers usually hold.

Keep records properly in the first place. Employers must keep complete and accurate wage, time, holiday and leave records for each employee for 6 years, and should keep a signed copy of each agreement. Employees can ask to see records held about them, so write every note as if the employee will read it.

Mediation through MBIE

Employment Mediation Services is a free service provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for any employee or employer with an employment relationship problem. Mediation is voluntary, confidential and semi-formal. An independent mediator helps the parties talk through the problem and look for a resolution both can accept. You can bring support, including whānau, a support person, an advocate, a lawyer, or a union or other representative.

If the parties agree an outcome, it can be written into a record of settlement. Once signed by a mediator from Employment Mediation Services, a record of settlement is legally binding and enforceable, and the same matter cannot then be taken to the Authority. The parties can also agree to give the mediator power to make a written recommendation, or a binding decision.

The Employment Relations Authority

If a grievance cannot be resolved, either party can apply to the Authority. It is an independent investigative body. Its job, under section 157, is to resolve employment relationship problems by establishing the facts and deciding according to the substantial merits of the case, without regard to technicalities.

A case starts with a statement of problem. The other party responds with a statement in reply. The Authority will usually consider whether mediation has been tried, and can direct the parties to mediation or further mediation before investigating, unless that would not help. An application fee is payable.

The Authority holds an investigation meeting and issues a determination. A determination is a public document unless a non-publication order is granted, and it is legally enforceable. A party unhappy with it can challenge it in the Employment Court.

Remedies: what the Authority or Court can award

Where a grievance is established, section 123 allows one or more of these remedies:

• Reinstatement. The employee returns to their former position, or to a position no less advantageous. The Authority can also order interim reinstatement while a case is being heard.
• Reimbursement of lost wages. Payment of wages or other money lost as a result of the grievance. The employee is expected to take reasonable steps to reduce their loss, such as looking for other work.
• Compensation. Payment for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings, and for loss of any benefit, monetary or not, that the employee might reasonably have expected to obtain.
• Recommendations and compliance. In some grievances, particularly harassment grievances, the Authority can make recommendations to the employer. It can also order compliance, such as paying wages or holiday pay that is owed.

Outcomes turn on the facts, the employer’s failings, the effect on the employee, and the contribution rules below.

When the employee contributed to the problem

Contribution is now decisive. If a grievance is established, the Authority or Court must consider whether the employee’s behaviour contributed to the situation. If it did, the employer cannot be required to reinstate the employee, or to pay compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings, or for loss of a benefit. The employee can still receive reimbursement of lost wages, although that can be reduced because of the contribution, and recommendations can still be made. If the contributing behaviour amounted to serious misconduct, the Authority or Court cannot award any remedies at all.

FAQs

Does a personal grievance have to be in writing?

No particular form is required, but it must be raised so the employer understands a grievance has been raised and why. Employment New Zealand recommends writing, because it creates a clear record.

Can I raise one after I have resigned or been dismissed?

Yes. A grievance can be raised against a former employer, and for dismissal the 90 days runs from the end of the employment. A resignation later called a constructive dismissal needs careful evidence about why you left.

What if I missed the 90 days by a few weeks?

Raise it anyway, immediately, and explain the delay. It can proceed if the employer agrees, or if the Authority is satisfied the delay was caused by exceptional circumstances of the kind in section 115 and it is just to allow it. A short delay is not excused on its own.

Can I raise a grievance during a trial period?

Not for unjustifiable dismissal, or disadvantage relating to the dismissal, if the trial period is valid. You can raise one on other grounds, such as discrimination or harassment. If the trial was not set up validly, for example you started work before signing, the dismissal can be challenged normally.

I earn more than $200,000. Can I still raise a grievance?

Yes, on grounds other than dismissal. The threshold removes the grievance for unjustifiable dismissal and dismissal related disadvantage, subject to the transition to 21 February 2027 and any written opt back in agreement.

Sources

• Employment Relations Act 2000, sections 103, 103A, 113, 114, 115 and 123, New Zealand Legislation: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2000/0024/latest/whole.html
• Personal grievances, Employment New Zealand: https://www.employment.govt.nz/resolving-problems/how-to-resolve-problems/personal-grievances
• Trial periods, Employment New Zealand: https://www.employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/hiring/trial-periods
• Dismissal rules for high income earners, Employment New Zealand: https://www.employment.govt.nz/ending-employment/dismissal/dismissal-rules-for-high-income-earners
• Mediation, Employment New Zealand: http://employment.govt.nz/resolving-problems/steps-to-resolve/mediation/
• Early resolution, Employment New Zealand: https://www.employment.govt.nz/resolving-problems/how-to-resolve-problems/early-resolution
• Escalating unresolved issues, Employment New Zealand: https://employment.govt.nz/resolving-problems/how-to-resolve-problems/escalating-unresolved-issues
• Record-keeping, Employment New Zealand: https://www.employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/rights-and-responsibilities/record-keeping
• Practice Direction of the Employment Relations Authority, era.govt.nz: https://www.era.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/practice-direction-of-the-employment-relations-authority.pdf

Disclaimer

This article is general information about the personal grievance process in New Zealand, not legal advice. Employment disputes turn on their own facts, documents and timing. If you are facing a deadline, a dismissal, or a grievance that has already been raised, get advice promptly from an employment lawyer, an employment advocate, your union, Community Law or Citizens Advice Bureau.

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