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67C: Agreed hours of work
or “This explains how you and your boss decide when you'll work and for how long.”
You could also call this:

“Rules about when an employer can ask you to be ready for work outside your normal hours”

An availability provision is a part of your job agreement where you need to be ready to work when your employer asks, even if it’s not during your usual work hours. This can only be included in your agreement if you already have set hours that you’re guaranteed to work.

Your employer can’t just add this to your agreement for no reason. They need to have a good reason based on fair grounds. They also need to pay you a fair amount for being available outside your normal hours.

If your employer wants to include an availability provision, they need to think about a few things:

  • Can they run the business without needing you to be available extra hours?
  • How many extra hours do they want you to be available?
  • How do these extra hours compare to your normal work hours?

The pay you get for being available should be based on things like:

  • How many extra hours you need to be available
  • How these extra hours compare to your normal work hours
  • Any restrictions the availability puts on you
  • Your normal pay rate
  • If you get a salary, how much it is

If you get a salary, you and your employer can agree that your pay already includes compensation for being available extra hours.

If an availability provision doesn’t follow these rules, you don’t have to follow it.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

Next up: 67E: Employee may refuse to perform certain work

or “You can say no to extra work if your boss doesn't promise to pay you fairly for being ready to do it.”
Next

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

67DAvailability provision

  1. In this section and section 67E, an availability provision means a provision in an employment agreement under which—

  2. the employee’s performance of work is conditional on the employer making work available to the employee; and
    1. the employee is required to be available to accept any work that the employer makes available.

      1. An availability provision may only—

      2. be included in an employment agreement that specifies agreed hours of work and that includes guaranteed hours of work among those agreed hours; and
        1. relate to a period for which an employee is required to be available that is in addition to those guaranteed hours of work.

          1. An availability provision must not be included in an employment agreement unless—

          2. the employer has genuine reasons based on reasonable grounds for including the availability provision and the number of hours of work specified in that provision; and
            1. the availability provision provides for the payment of reasonable compensation to the employee for making himself or herself available to perform work under the provision.

              1. An availability provision that is not included in an employment agreement in accordance with subsection (3) is not enforceable against the employee.

              2. In considering whether there are genuine reasons based on reasonable grounds for including an availability provision, an employer must have regard to all relevant matters, including the following:

              3. whether it is practicable for the employer to meet business demands for the work to be performed by the employee without including an availability provision:
                1. the number of hours for which the employee would be required to be available:
                  1. the proportion of the hours referred to in paragraph (b) to the agreed hours of work.

                    1. Compensation payable under an availability provision must be determined having regard to all relevant matters, including the following:

                    2. the number of hours for which the employee is required to be available:
                      1. the proportion of the hours referred to in paragraph (a) to the agreed hours of work:
                        1. the nature of any restrictions resulting from the availability provision:
                          1. the rate of payment under the employment agreement for the work for which the employee is available:
                            1. if the employee is remunerated by way of salary, the amount of the salary.

                              1. For the purposes of subsection (3)(b), an employer and an employee who is remunerated for agreed hours of work by way of salary may agree that the employee’s remuneration includes compensation for the employee making himself or herself available for work under an availability provision.

                              Notes
                              • Section 67D: inserted, on , by section 9 of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 9).