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Human Rights Act 1993

Unlawful discrimination - Other forms of discrimination

62A: Adverse treatment in employment of people affected by family violence

You could also call this:

"Law protects workers from unfair treatment due to family violence"

Illustration for Human Rights Act 1993

It is against the law to treat someone badly at work because they are affected by family violence. You are affected by family violence if someone is being violent to you or to a child you live with. The law says you should not be treated unfairly because of this. If you are looking for a job or already have one, you should not be treated badly because of family violence. This includes being dismissed, not getting the same pay or opportunities as others, or being forced to retire. The Family Violence Act 2018 defines what family violence is, you can read about it in section 9 of that Act. It does not matter when the family violence happened, you are still protected by the law. You can learn more about what a person affected by family violence means in the Family Violence Act 2018, and what a child is, as defined in section 8 of that Act.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS185811.

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Part 2Unlawful discrimination
Other forms of discrimination

62AAdverse treatment in employment of people affected by family violence

  1. It is unlawful for a person (in the course of that person’s involvement in any of the areas to which this subsection is applied by subsection (2)) to treat adversely any other person, or to make an implied or overt threat to treat adversely any other person, on the ground that the other person is, or is suspected or assumed or believed to be, a person affected by family violence.

  2. The areas to which subsection (1) applies are—

  3. the making of an application for employment:
    1. employment, which term includes unpaid work.

      1. In this section, an employer treats adversely an employee if the employer—

      2. dismisses that employee, in circumstances in which other employees employed by that employer on work of that description are not or would not be dismissed or subjected to such detriment; or
        1. refuses or omits to offer or afford to that employee the same terms of employment, conditions of work, fringe benefits, or opportunities for training, promotion, and transfer as are made available for other employees of the same or substantially the same qualifications, experience, or skills employed in the same or substantially similar circumstances; or
          1. subjects that employee to any detriment, in circumstances in which other employees employed by that employer on work of that description are not or would not be subjected to such detriment; or
            1. retires that employee, or requires or causes that employee to retire or resign.

              1. For the purposes of this section,—

                child has the meaning given to it in section 8 of the Family Violence Act 2018

                  family violence has the meaning given to it in section 9 the Family Violence Act 2018

                    person affected by family violence means a person who is 1 or both of the following:

                    1. a person against whom any other person is inflicting, or has inflicted, family violence:
                      1. a person with whom there ordinarily or periodically resides a child against whom any other person is inflicting, or has inflicted, family violence.

                      2. Subsection (1) applies regardless of how long ago the family violence occurred or is suspected or assumed or believed to have occurred, and even if the family violence occurred or is suspected or assumed or believed to have occurred before the person became an employee.

                      Notes
                      • Section 62A: inserted, on , by section 39 of the Domestic Violence—Victims' Protection Act 2018 (2018 No 21).
                      • Section 62A heading: amended, on , by section 259(1) of the Family Violence Act 2018 (2018 No 46).
                      • Section 62A(1): amended, on , by section 259(1) of the Family Violence Act 2018 (2018 No 46).
                      • Section 62A(4): replaced, on , by section 259(1) of the Family Violence Act 2018 (2018 No 46).
                      • Section 62A(5): amended, on , by section 259(1) of the Family Violence Act 2018 (2018 No 46).