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Employment Relations Act 2000

Individual employees' terms and conditions of employment - Specific terms and conditions of employment

67B: Effect of trial provision under section 67A

You could also call this:

“This rule explains what happens when a boss ends a worker's job during a trial period.”

If you have a job with a trial period, there are special rules about what happens if your employer decides to end your job during this time. If your employer tells you they’re ending your job before the trial period is over, you can’t complain about being dismissed or take them to court about it.

However, you can still complain or go to court if your employer does something else wrong, like discriminating against you or treating you unfairly for other reasons not related to your work performance.

During your trial period, you should be treated the same as any other employee in most ways. You can still use services to help solve problems at work.

There are two exceptions to how you’re treated during a trial period. Your employer doesn’t have to tell you all the information about why they’re ending your job. Also, if your job is ended during the trial period, you can’t ask your employer to explain their decision in writing.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1867208.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Rights and equality > Anti-discrimination
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67A: Employment agreement may contain provision for trial period for 90 days or less, or

“You can try out a new job for up to 90 days, and your boss can let you go during this time without you being able to complain about it.”

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67C: Agreed hours of work, or

“This explains how you and your boss decide when you'll work and for how long.”

Part 6 Individual employees' terms and conditions of employment
Specific terms and conditions of employment

67BEffect of trial provision under section 67A

  1. This section applies if an employer terminates an employment agreement containing a trial provision under section 67A by giving the employee notice of the termination before the end of the trial period, whether the termination takes effect before, at, or after the end of the trial period.

  2. An employee whose employment agreement is terminated in accordance with subsection (1) may not bring a personal grievance or legal proceedings in respect of the dismissal.

  3. Neither this section nor a trial provision prevents an employee from bringing a personal grievance or legal proceedings on any of the grounds specified in section 103(1)(b) to (k).

  4. An employee whose employment agreement contains a trial provision is, in all other respects (including access to mediation services), to be treated no differently from an employee whose employment agreement contains no trial provision or contains a trial provision that has ceased to have effect.

  5. Subsection (4) applies subject to the following provisions:

  6. in observing the obligation in section 4 of dealing in good faith with the employee, the employer is not required to comply with section 4(1A)(c) in making a decision whether to terminate an employment agreement under this section; and
    1. the employer is not required to comply with a request under section 120 that relates to terminating an employment agreement under this section.

      Notes
      • Section 67B: inserted, on , by section 7 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 106).
      • Section 67B(1): amended, on , by section 5(1) of the Employment Relations (Trial Periods) Amendment Act 2023 (2023 No 69).
      • Section 67B(3): amended, on , by section 40 of the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 (2022 No 20).
      • Section 67B(3): amended, on , by section 4 of the Regulatory Systems (Workplace Relations) Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 13).
      • Section 67B(5)(a): amended, on , by section 5(2) of the Employment Relations (Trial Periods) Amendment Act 2023 (2023 No 69).
      • Section 67B(5)(b): amended, on , by section 5(2) of the Employment Relations (Trial Periods) Amendment Act 2023 (2023 No 69).