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Employment Relations Act 2000

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

67: Probationary arrangements

You could also call this:

“Rules about trying out new workers before hiring them for good”

When you and your employer agree that you’ll have a probation period at the start of your job, this must be written down in your employment agreement. Even if you have a probation period, the rules about unfair dismissal still apply if you’re fired during or at the end of this time.

If your employer doesn’t write the probation period in your employment agreement, it doesn’t make your whole agreement invalid. However, if it’s not written down, you can choose to ignore the probation period if you want to.

Your employer can’t use the probation period against you if they didn’t write it in your agreement and you decide you don’t want it to count.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM59164.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Rights and equality > Anti-discrimination
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66: Fixed term employment, or

“A job that has a specific end date, event, or project finish, with rules to protect workers”

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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.”

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

67Probationary arrangements

  1. Where the parties to an employment agreement agree as part of the agreement that an employee will serve a period of probation after the commencement of the employment,—

  2. the fact of the probation period must be specified in writing in the employment agreement; and
    1. neither the fact that the probation period is specified, nor what is specified in respect of it, affects the application of the law relating to unjustifiable dismissal to a situation where the employee is dismissed in reliance on that agreement during or at the end of the probation period.

      1. Failure to comply with subsection (1)(a) does not affect the validity of the employment agreement between the parties.

      2. However, if the employer does not comply with subsection (1)(a), the employer may not rely on any term agreed under subsection (1) that the employee serve a period of probation if the employee elects, at any time, to treat that term as ineffective.

      Notes
      • Section 67(1): amended, on , by section 6 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 106).
      • Section 67(1)(a): amended, on , by section 6 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 106).
      • Section 67(1)(b): amended, on , by section 6 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 106).
      • Section 67(2): added, on , by section 28 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 86).
      • Section 67(3): added, on , by section 28 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act (No 2) 2004 (2004 No 86).
      • Section 67(3): amended, on , by section 6 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 106).