Election 2026: What could the General Election mean for New Zealand employment law?

Advance voting is open and New Zealanders head to the polls in the General Election on 7 November 2026. For employers, the outcome could determine whether some of the most significant employment law reforms of the past two years remain in place or face further substantial change. 

Employment law has been an active area of reform during the current parliamentary term. Changes have been made to the Employment Relations Act, a completely new Employment Leave Act has been enacted to replace the Holidays Act, the pay equity regime has changed, and significant health and safety reforms are due to take effect. 

However, a number of opposition parties have stated their intention to reverse some of those changes. Employment law therefore represents one area where the direction after the election could look quite different depending on the composition of the next Government.  

With that in mind, this article summarises what the election could mean for New Zealand workplaces. 

Employment Relations Act 

Significant changes to the Employment Relations Act 2000 were introduced in February this year affecting personal grievances and remedies, trial periods, contractor status and collective employment arrangements (‘the Amendments’).[1] A change of Government could see aspects revisited. 

• Contractor gateway test - The 2026 reforms introduced a statutory gateway for determining when a worker will be treated as a specified contractor rather than an employee. Worker status is important because employees receive employment protections and statutory entitlements that genuine independent contractors do not. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori have indicated support for reversing the contractor changes.  
• 90-day trial periods – Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity support removing 90-day trials.   
• Personal grievances – A Labour-led government could undo changes to the test of justification. Before the Amendments, the Authority or Court could not determine a dismissal or action to be unjustifiable solely because of a minor procedural defect, provided this did not result in unfair treatment of the employee. Amendments removed the work ‘minor’, therefore a dismissal or action will no longer be unjustified solely because a defect occurred, only if that defect caused actual unfairness to the employee. This shifts the focus from the seriousness of the procedural defect to whether it caused actual unfairness. 
• Remedies – The Amendments significantly limited employees’ access to remedies where they contributed to their personal grievance. Where the employee’s conduct amounts to serious misconduct, no remedy is available. Where the employee’s conduct falls short of serious misconduct, but still contributed to the grievance, only lost wages may be recovered in remedies. The consequence of the amendments is that an employee may successfully establish a personal grievance, but be barred from meaningful relief.  
• Fair Pay Agreements – The Labour government’s previously introduced Fair Pay Agreements were repealed by the current coalition. This could be reversed, with the Agreements re-introduced, alternative sector wide bargaining arrangements could be implemented, and minimum standards in sectors with historically low wages and poor conditions may be increased. 

Holidays and leave 

Employers will have significant questions about what will occur with the Holidays Act reforms and new Employment Leave Act 2026. 

The Act became law on 6 August 2026 and is intended to replace the Holidays Act. Most of its provisions do not take effect until August 2028, giving employers time to prepare for substantial changes to employment agreements, payroll systems and leave administration. [2]  

However, despite general agreement the Holidays Act is no longer fit for purpose for modern working arrangements, the Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori have indicated that they would repeal the new Act before it takes full effect.  

For now, the Holidays Act continues to apply and employers must comply with it. Regardless of law change, employers should be taking a close look at whether terms of employment truly reflect working arrangements, be actively managing employee leave and keeping accurate records.   

Health and safety 

The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 represents another significant divide between the parties. The amendments alter aspects of New Zealand's workplace health and safety framework, including obligations affecting small businesses. The coalition Government’s reforms aim to reduce unnecessary compliance costs and clarify obligations for small businesses. [3] 

Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity have indicated support for the repeal of the recent amendments.  

Union membership and collective bargaining 

Union membership is no longer an automatic opt-out scheme, requiring employees to opt in if they would like to be part of their union. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori support making union membership the default for new employees, with employees able to opt out. By contrast, ACT, has proposed further change to union arrangements, including making payroll deductions of union fees voluntary and requiring unions to arrange payment directly with members.  

Minimum wage 

Labour and New Zealand First have committed to ongoing minimum wage increases, while the Greens support moving the minimum wage towards the living wage. 

ACT has taken the opposite position, proposing to freeze the adult minimum wage for three years. It would also introduce a training wage for workers under 20 set at 60% of the adult minimum wage, available for their first 12 months with an employer.  

The current adult minimum wage is $23.95 per hour. For employers with significant numbers of minimum-wage employees, particularly in retail, hospitality, horticulture and other labour-intensive industries, the approaches have potentially significant implications for future wage costs.

KiwiSaver 

KiwiSaver has emerged as an issue this election. The default contribution rate increased from 3% to 3.5% on 1 April 2026. Both National and Labour are proposing substantially higher employer contributions in the future.  

• National – proposes making KiwiSaver compulsory for workers and increasing both the employee and employer contribution rates to 6% by 2032. It also proposes automatically enrolling babies at birth with a Government-funded $1,500 "BabyBoost", requiring employer contributions for workers over 65, and providing a Government KiwiSaver contribution while a parent receives paid parental leave.  
• Labour – would also increase compulsory employer contributions to 6% by 2032, but would retain greater flexibility for employees to reduce or pause their own contributions. Significantly for employers, Labour also proposes banning new total remuneration arrangements that incorporate an employer's KiwiSaver contribution into an employee's overall remuneration package. It would require employer contributions to continue for workers over 65 and while employees are on paid parental leave.  
• Other parties – New Zealand First has also proposed KiwiSaver enrolment from birth, including a $1,000 Crown contribution for newborn New Zealand citizens, while Opportunity proposes a compulsory "KiwiSaver 2.0" model. 

The competing policies mean KiwiSaver should be viewed as an employment cost issue as well as a retirement savings policy. A move towards compulsory 6% employer contributions would be significant for remuneration budgeting and employment agreement drafting. 

Pay equity 

Pay equity claims address pay inequality in workforces which have been historically underpaid due to discrimination. The Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 significantly changed the framework for bringing pay equity claims and affected claims already in progress.  

• Labour has committed to restoring the previous pay equity legislation within its first 100 days in Government, to accommodate the claims that were in progress when the 2025 amendments were passed. It has not committed to continuing the scheme beyond this. Labour has additionally committed funding for a $4 per hour pay increase for care and support workers from 2027.  
• The Greens, Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity have also committed to reinstating the previous regime.  

For employers in health, disability, social services and other sectors historically affected by pay equity claims, the outcome of the election could therefore have particularly significant consequences. 

Paid parental leave 

National has proposed extending paid parental leave to 40 weeks, as well as allowing parents greater flexibility to share or overlap their entitlements. Its policy also includes a KiwiSaver top-up during paid parental leave.  

Labour proposes requiring KiwiSaver employer contributions to continue while an employee is receiving paid parental leave.  

The Greens have proposed a substantially longer paid parental leave entitlement. 

Changes in this area have consequences beyond the Government-funded parental leave payment. Employers should consider the interaction with extended employee absences, temporary replacement employees, return-to-work obligations, KiwiSaver and workforce planning. 

Immigration and migrant workers 

Immigration settings have an obvious employment impact for organisations that rely upon overseas workers, particularly where there are domestic skills shortages. 

Labour has proposed changes including a longer pathway to permanent residence and changes to the operation of employer-linked visas. National's approach is more closely aligned with continuation of the immigration settings implemented during the current parliamentary term.  

ACT has proposed tighter visa conditions and changes to skilled-worker settings.  

New Zealand First has proposed a considerably wider overhaul, including a shortage-led skilled work visa, longer qualifying periods for permanent residence and citizenship, restrictions on international student work rights, and a proposed referendum on an annual cap of 20,000 resident visas.  

What does this mean for employers? 

The 2026 election presents two quite different potential directions for New Zealand employment law. 

A National-led Government would broadly represent continuity of the employment reforms made during the current parliamentary term, although coalition negotiations could produce further changes. 

A Labour-led Government, particularly one requiring support from the Greens or Te Pāti Māori, could result in significant parts of the recent reform programme being revisited. That could include the Employment Relations Act amendments, 90-day trials, contractor rules, pay equity, health and safety reforms and, importantly, the Employment Leave Act before it takes full effect.  

Our advice to employers: 

1. Comply with existing law. Election policies are proposals. They do not change an employer's current obligations. 
2. Be cautious about making significant long term changes before the post-election direction becomes clear. But, be ready. A continuation of the current government, for example, will have significant impact on high income earners. 
3. Expect further change. Whichever parties ultimately form the next Government, employment law is likely to remain an active area of reform. 

DTI Lawyers team of specialist employment lawyers will continue to provide updates on what any changes mean in practice for employers and employees. For advice on all employment law matters, contact our employment lawyers by phone on 07 282 0174, or by email [email protected].