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Employment Relations Act 2000

Institutions - Employment Relations Authority

164: Application to individual employment agreements of law relating to contracts

You could also call this:

“Rules about changing job agreements when there are problems that can't be fixed by talking it out”

The Employment Relations Authority has the power to cancel or change an individual employment agreement or parts of it. However, they can only do this if certain steps have been taken first.

You need to know that the Authority must first identify the problem with the agreement. They will then tell you and the other person involved to try and fix the problem yourselves.

If you can’t fix it on your own, you’ll need to try mediation. This is where someone helps you and the other person talk about the problem and try to solve it together.

If mediation doesn’t work and you still can’t solve the problem, the Authority can step in. But before they make any changes to your agreement, they have to be sure that there’s no other way to fix the issue.

Remember, the Authority can only change or cancel your agreement as a last resort. They will only do this if they think it’s the only way to solve the problem.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM60947.

Topics:
Work and jobs > Worker rights
Government and voting > Government departments
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163: Restriction on Authority's power in relation to collective agreements, or

“The Employment Relations Authority can't change or cancel parts of agreements made between workers and bosses.”

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165: Other provisions relating to investigations of Authority, or

“Rules about how the Authority looks into work problems”

Part 10 Institutions
Employment Relations Authority

164Application to individual employment agreements of law relating to contracts

  1. Where the Authority has, under section 69(1)(b) or section 162, the power to make an order cancelling or varying an individual employment agreement or any term of such an agreement, the Authority may make such an order only if—

  2. the Authority (whether or not it gave any direction under section 159(1)(b) in relation to the matter)—
    1. has identified the problem in relation to the agreement; and
      1. has directed the parties to attempt in good faith to resolve that problem; and
      2. the parties have attempted in good faith to resolve the problem relating to the agreement by using mediation; and
        1. despite the use of mediation, the problem has not been resolved; and
          1. the Authority is satisfied that any remedy other than such an order would be inappropriate or inadequate.

            Compare
            • 1991 No 22 s 104(2)