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Employment Relations Act 2000

Individual employees' terms and conditions of employment - Bargaining

63A: Bargaining for individual employment agreement or individual terms and conditions in employment agreement

You could also call this:

“ Rules for employers when discussing job terms with workers or future workers ”

This section talks about how to handle bargaining for individual employment agreements or terms in specific situations. It applies when you’re discussing extra terms on top of a collective agreement, changes to an individual agreement, or when there’s no collective agreement covering the work.

When bargaining in these situations, your employer must do a few important things. They need to give you a copy of the agreement you’re talking about. They must tell you that you can get independent advice about it. They should give you enough time to get that advice if you want it. Your employer also needs to listen to any concerns you have and respond to them.

If an employer doesn’t follow these rules, they might have to pay a penalty. But even if they don’t follow the rules, it doesn’t make your employment agreement invalid.

These rules are extra requirements on top of other rules in the Employment Relations Act. They apply to current employees and people who might become employees in the future.

Remember, if a collective agreement mentions specific employees by name or the work they do, it’s treated as covering that type of work, even if other employees do it too.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM59152.

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63: Terms and conditions of employment of new employee who is not member of union, or

“Rules for hiring someone new who isn't in a union when there's a group agreement for other workers”

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63B: Additional employer obligations when bargaining for terms and conditions of employment under section 62, or

“Employers must tell new workers about unions and collective agreements when hiring”

Part 6 Individual employees' terms and conditions of employment
Bargaining

63ABargaining for individual employment agreement or individual terms and conditions in employment agreement

  1. This section applies when bargaining for terms and conditions of employment in the following situations:

  2. under section 61(1), in relation to additional terms and conditions to the applicable collective agreement:
    1. under section 61(2), in relation to—
      1. additional terms and conditions to the collective agreement on which the individual employment agreement is based; and
        1. variations to the individual employment agreement in subparagraph (i):
        2. under section 62(3), in relation to additional terms and conditions for the first 30 days of an employee’s employment:
            1. under section 63(2), in relation to variations to terms and conditions of an individual employment agreement after the 30-day period:
                1. in relation to the terms and conditions of an individual employment agreement (including any variations to that agreement) for an employee if no collective agreement covers the work done, or to be done, by the employee:
                  1. where a fixed term of employment, or probationary or trial period of employment, is proposed:
                    1. under section 69OJ in relation to employee protection provisions in individual employment agreements:
                      1. under section 69N in relation to redundancy entitlements with a new employer.

                        1. The employer must do at least the following things:

                        2. provide to the employee a copy of the intended agreement under discussion; and
                          1. advise the employee that he or she is entitled to seek independent advice about the intended agreement; and
                            1. give the employee a reasonable opportunity to seek that advice; and
                              1. consider any issues that the employee raises and respond to them.

                                1. Every employer who fails to comply with this section is liable to a penalty imposed by the Authority.

                                2. Failure to comply with this section does not affect the validity of the employment agreement between the employee and the employer.

                                3. The requirements imposed by this section are in addition to any requirements that may be imposed under any provision in this Act.

                                4. For the purpose of subsection (1)(e), a collective agreement that includes a coverage clause referring to named employees, or the work done by named employees, to whom the collective agreement applies must be treated as covering the work or type of work done by the named employees (whether done by those employees or any other employees).

                                5. Repealed

                                6. In this section, employee includes a prospective employee.

                                Notes
                                • Section 63A: inserted, on , by section 23 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 86).
                                • Section 63A(1)(c): inserted, on , by section 23(1) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2018 (2018 No 53).
                                • Section 63A(1)(c): repealed, on , by section 19(1) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 61).
                                • Section 63A(1)(d): inserted, on , by section 23(1) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2018 (2018 No 53).
                                • Section 63A(1)(d): repealed, on , by section 19(1) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 61).
                                • Section 63A(1)(e): replaced, on , by section 23(2) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2018 (2018 No 53).
                                • Section 63A(1)(g): amended, on , by section 19(3) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 61).
                                • Section 63A(1)(h): amended, on , by section 19(4) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 61).
                                • Section 63A(2)(a): amended, on , by section 10(1) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 125).
                                • Section 63A(2)(b): amended, on , by section 10(2) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 125).
                                • Section 63A(6): inserted, on , by section 23(3) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2018 (2018 No 53).
                                • Section 63A(6): repealed, on , by section 19(5) of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2014 (2014 No 61).