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Employment Relations Act 2000

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

64: Employer must retain copy of individual employment agreement or individual terms and conditions of employment

You could also call this:

“Bosses must keep a copy of your work agreement and show it to you if you ask”

When you start a new job, your employer must keep a signed copy of your employment agreement or the current terms and conditions of your job. This is required by section 63A.

If your employer gives you a draft agreement, they must keep a copy of it even if you haven’t signed it or agreed to any of its terms.

You can ask your employer for a copy of your employment agreement, current terms and conditions, or the draft agreement they’ve kept. Your employer should give this to you as soon as they can.

If your employer doesn’t follow these rules, a Labour Inspector or you can take action against them. The Employment Relations Authority can give the employer a penalty.

Before taking action, the Labour Inspector must tell the employer in writing that they’ve broken this rule. The employer then has 7 working days to fix the problem.

Remember, a draft agreement is not your real employment agreement if you haven’t signed it or agreed to its terms.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM59155.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Business > Industry rules
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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”

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65: Form and content of individual employment agreement, or

“Rules for writing down what you and your boss agree about your job”

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

64Employer must retain copy of individual employment agreement or individual terms and conditions of employment

  1. When section 63A applies, the employer must retain a signed copy of the employee's individual employment agreement or the current terms and conditions of employment that make up the employee's individual terms and conditions of employment (as the case may be).

  2. If an employer has provided an employee with an intended agreement under section 63A(2)(a), the employer must retain a copy of that intended agreement even if the employee has not—

  3. signed the intended agreement; or
    1. agreed to any of the terms and conditions specified in the intended agreement.

      1. If requested by the employee, the employer must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, provide the employee with a copy of the employee's—

      2. individual employment agreement or current terms and conditions of employment retained under subsection (1); or
        1. intended agreement retained under subsection (2).

          1. An employer who fails to comply with subsection (1), (2), or (3) is liable, in an action brought by a Labour Inspector or the employee concerned, to a penalty imposed by the Authority.

          2. Before bringing an action under subsection (4), the Labour Inspector must—

          3. give the employer written notice of the breach of this section; and
            1. give the employer 7 working days to remedy the breach.

              1. To avoid doubt, an intended agreement must not be treated as the employee's employment agreement if the employee has not—

              2. signed the intended agreement; or
                1. agreed to any of the terms and conditions specified in the intended agreement.

                  Notes
                  • Section 64: substituted, on , by section 11 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 125).
                  • Section 64(4): amended, on , by section 7 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 9).