Employers, new hires may soon be allowed to negotiate individual agreements in their first 30 days at work
The New Zealand government is scrapping the policy that requires a new hire's contract to reflect a collective agreement within their first 30 days, regardless of whether they choose to join a union.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said this status quo is "convoluted and confusing."
It also adds another administrative cost on top of many others, which are dragging down workplace productivity, according to the minister.
"If a new employee chooses to negotiate the terms and conditions that suit their personal preferences or situation, they should have that choice realised from day one of employment," van Velden said in a statement.
The minister said removing this policy will allow employers and employees to agree on a wider range of employment terms that are different from the collective agreement for their first 30 days.
It will also enable the 90-day trials to be made available from the start of employment if an employee chooses to.
Katherine Rich, chief executive of BusinessNZ, said they support this upcoming change.
"Whatever a new employee chooses to negotiate - collective agreement or individual agreement - should be respected immediately, not after 30 days," Rich said in a statement. "There should be no automatic inclusion of a new employee into the terms of a union's collective agreement without that person's agreement."
The change will be introduced in the government's upcoming Employment Relations Amendment Bill, which is expected to be passed by the end of 2025.
Meanwhile, the amendment also seeks to change the way employers communicate and report back on union members for new hires.
Under the amendment, employers will no longer have to use the active choice form, where new employees can indicate if they want to join a union.
However, they still need to communicate that the employee may join a union, how to contact a union, and that they will be bound to a collective agreement if they join a union.
For unions, the change means they no longer have the ability to provide information about the role and functions of the unions that the employer must pass to the employee.
The changes seek to cut the "red tape" that employers and employees undergo at the start of employment, according to the government.
"I am striking the right balance between ensuring information about unions is available to new employees, protecting the personal choice of workers, and reducing the compliance burden for employers," van Velden said.
BusinessNZ had strongly advocated for changes in this area of employment law, according to Rich, who said the recent changes to policy will be welcomed by employers and employees.
