Equal Pay Act 1972

Pay equity claims - Claims involving multiple employers

13K: Union-raised claims raised with multiple employers: employers must enter into pay equity process agreement

You could also call this:

"When a union helps workers claim fair pay from many employers, those employers must work together to fix the problem."

If a union raises a pay equity claim with two or more employers, this section applies. You need to know that the claim is about employees who do the same or similar work. This can happen when one union raises a claim with multiple employers or when multiple unions raise a claim together with multiple employers.

When an employer gets a pay equity claim, they must enter into a multi-employer pay equity process agreement if they have not opted out under section 13L. You will be part of deciding whether the work is the same or similar and whether the claim is valid. The agreement is also for the pay equity bargaining process.

The multi-employer pay equity process agreement must say who will represent the employers and how they will make decisions about the claim. If the employers cannot agree on the agreement, they can ask the Authority for help.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS427266.


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13J: Employer must acknowledge receipt of pay equity claim and notify unions, or

"Employer must say they got your pay claim and tell the union within 5 working days."


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13L: Opting out of multi-employer pay equity claim, or

"How to leave a shared pay fairness claim with other employers"

Part 4Pay equity claims
Claims involving multiple employers

13KUnion-raised claims raised with multiple employers: employers must enter into pay equity process agreement

  1. This section applies if—

  2. 1 union has raised a pay equity claim with 2 or more employers in respect of employees who are members of that union and who perform the same, or substantially similar, work; or
    1. 2 or more unions have jointly raised a pay equity claim with 2 or more employers in respect of employees who are members of any of those unions and who perform the same, or substantially similar, work.
      1. Subsection (2A) applies to each employer who—

      2. receives a pay equity claim referred to in subsection (1); and
        1. has not opted out of the multi-employer pay equity claim under section 13L.
          1. Each employer must enter into a single multi-employer pay equity process agreement—

          2. for the purpose of deciding whether all of the employees covered by the claim perform work that is the same or substantially similar; and
            1. for the purpose of deciding whether the claim has merit; and
              1. for the purpose of the pay equity bargaining process.
                1. The multi-employer pay equity process agreement must set out—

                2. whether there will be 1 or more representatives for the employers and who that representative or those representatives will be; and
                  1. how decisions relating to the claim will be made.
                    1. If the employers cannot agree on a multi-employer pay equity process agreement, any of them may apply to the Authority for a direction.

                    Notes
                    • Section 13K: inserted, on , by section 18 of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 45).
                    • Section 13K(2): replaced, on , by section 14 of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).
                    • Section 13K(2A): inserted, on , by section 14 of the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 21).