Employment
Employment Relations Act 2000 good faith and the s. 103A test
A good-faith framework under the Employment Relations Act 2000. Personal grievances go first to free MBIE mediation, then to the investigative Employment Relations Authority rather than a conventional court.
Key rules
- Deadline — Personal grievance must be raised with the employer within 90 days of the action complained of
- Deadline — Sexual harassment grievances: 12 months to raise (extended in 2023)
Governing law
- Employment Relations Act 2000 (s. 103A)
- Holidays Act 2003
- Minimum Wage Act 1983
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
In practice
The duty of good faith in s. 4 runs both ways and covers more than contractual performance — it requires an employer to be responsive and communicative, including providing information before a decision that may affect employment. Dismissal is tested by s. 103A: whether a fair and reasonable employer could have acted as this employer did, procedurally as well as substantively, so a substantively justified dismissal can still fail for a flawed process. The 90-day clock to raise a grievance is short and strictly applied. Trial periods of up to 90 days, during which a dismissal cannot be challenged as unjustified, were extended to all employers again from December 2023.