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Employment Relations Act 2000

Strikes and lockouts - Suspension of employees during strikes

87: Suspension of striking employees

You could also call this:

“When workers go on strike, their boss can stop them from working and not pay them, but their job is still safe.”

If you go on strike, your employer can suspend you from work. This means you’ll stop working temporarily. Your suspension will last until the strike ends, unless your employer decides to end it sooner.

Even if all the workers on strike are suspended, it doesn’t mean the strike is over. You’re still part of the strike even if you’re suspended.

When you’re suspended because of a strike, you won’t get paid. This includes your salary, wages, allowances, or any other payments you usually get from your job.

When you go back to work after the suspension, your job will treat your time away as if you had been working the whole time. This is important for things like benefits or rights that depend on how long you’ve worked there without a break.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM59980.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
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86B: Notice of lockout, or

“An employer must tell workers and the government before stopping them from working”

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88: Suspension of non-striking employees where work not available during strike, or

“An employer can pause work for employees who aren't striking if there's no work for them because of a strike.”

Part 8 Strikes and lockouts
Suspension of employees during strikes

87Suspension of striking employees

  1. Where there is a strike, the employer may suspend the employment of an employee who is a party to the strike.

  2. Unless sooner revoked by the employer, a suspension under subsection (1) continues until the strike is ended.

  3. The suspension under this section of all or any of the employees who are on strike does not end the strike and those employees do not, by reason only of their suspension under subsection (1), cease to be parties to the strike.

  4. An employee who is suspended under subsection (1) is not entitled to any remuneration by way of salary, wages, allowances, or other emoluments in respect of the period of the suspension.

  5. On the resumption of the employee's employment, the employee's service must be treated as continuous, despite the period of suspension, for the purpose of rights and benefits that are conditional on continuous service.

Compare
  • 1991 No 22 s 65