Score
improved

2024 Score

74

2022 Score

68

2020 Score

68.5

Rating

Reasonable Access to Decent Work

Fair
Wages

20

Decent
Working Hours

80

Employment
Security

40

Family
Responsibilities

25

Maternity
at Work

100

Safe
Work

100

Social
Security

100

Fair
Treatment

100

Child &
Forced Labour

75

Freedom of
Association

100

Fair Wages - 20

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the legislation or collective negotiation set and determine the minimum wages in the country? Yes 1 §4 of Minimum Wage Act, 1983
No Change
Does the law require regular and timely payment of wages? No 0 §9 & 10 of Wages Protection Act, 1983
No Change
Does the law require overtime compensation to be at least 125% of the regular hourly rate? No 0 §67C, 67D & 67E of Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change
Does the law require any additional compensation for working on a weekly rest day? No 0 No applicable legal provisions could be located
No Change
Does the law require additional compensation for night work? No 0 No applicable legal provisions could be located
No Change

Decent Working Hours - 80

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law stipulate general weekly working hours as 48 hours or lower? Yes 1 §11B of Minimum Wage Act, 1983
No Change
Does the law restrict maximum working hours, including overtime, to 56 hours per week? No 0 §67C of Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change
Does the law require a paid weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours? Yes 1 §11B of Minimum Wage Act, 1983
No Change
Does the law require paid public holidays? Yes 1 §43-46 of Holidays Act, 2003
No Change
Does the law require at least three working weeks of paid annual leave? Yes 1 §16 of Holidays Act, 2003
No Change

Employment Security - 40

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law require a written employment contract or employment particulars to be given to a worker on commencement of employment? Yes 1 §64 & 65 of Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change
Does the law restrict the hiring of fixed-term contract workers? No 0 §66 of Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change
Does the law limit the length of the probation period, including renewals, to three months? Yes 1 §67 of Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change
Does the law require a 30-day notice period before employment contract termination? No 0 §120 of Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change
Does the law require severance pay at the rate of at least two weeks of wages for every year of service? No 0 §69N of Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change

Family Responsibilities - 25

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law require a four-month parental leave for parents? Yes 1 §9 of Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act, 1987
No Change
Does the law require at least one week of paid paternity leave for fathers*? No 0 §19 of Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987
No Change
Does the law require flexible working arrangements* for workers with family responsibilities? No 0 Part 6AA of the Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change
Does the law require paid nursing breaks? No 0 §69Y and 69ZB of the Employment Relations Act 2000
No Change

Maternity at Work - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law prohibit inquiring about pregnancy during recruitment? Yes 1 §21, 22 & 74 of the Human Rights Act, 1993
No Change
Does the law require maternity leave of at least 14 weeks? Yes 1 §9 of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987
No Change
Does the law require cash maternity benefits to be at least two-thirds (66.67%) of a worker's former wage? Yes 1 §71M of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987
No Change
Does the law require cash maternity benefits to be paid through a contributory social insurance or a universal benefits system or such benefits are an employer's liability? Yes 1 §71Q of the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987
No Change
Does the law protect workers from dismissals during or on account of pregnancy? Yes 1 §49 of Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act, 1987
No Change

Safe Work - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law require employers to provide free personal protective equipment to workers? Yes 1 §6 of Health and Safety in Employment Act, 1992
No Change
Does the law require employers to train workers on health and safety Issues? Yes 1 §13 of Health and Safety in Employment Act, 1992
No Change
Does the law restrict work that is prejudicial to the health of the mother or the child? Yes 1 §14-16 of Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act, 1987
No Change
Does the law provide for employment injury benefits in the event of an occupational accident or disease? Yes 1 §97-106 of the Accident Compensation Act 2001
No Change

Social Security - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law provide for an old age benefit? Yes 1 §7(1) of New Zealand Superannuation and Retirement Income Act, 2001
No Change
Does the law provide for survivors' benefits? Yes 1 §90-94 of the Social Security Act 2018
Score adjusted due to a minor revision in methodology
Does the law provide for unemployment benefits? Yes 1 §20-28 of the Social Security Act 2018
No Change
Does the law require paid sick leave (and sickness benefits) for the first six months of sickness? Yes 1 §27-28 of the Social Security Act 2018
Score adjusted due to a minor revision in methodology
Does the law provide for invalidity benefits? Yes 1 §84-89 of the Social Security Act 2018
Score adjusted due to a minor revision in methodology

Fair Treatment - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law require equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value? Yes 1 §2AAC of Equal Pay Act, 1972
No Change
Does the law prohibit sexual harassment in employment? Yes 1 §62, 92I & 92M of Human Rights Act, 1993; §108, 123 & 128 of Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change
Does the law prohibit discrimination in employment matters? Yes 1 §21 and 22 of Human Rights Act, 1993
No Change
Does the law allow women to do the same job as men? Yes 1 No restrictive legal provisions could be located
No Change
Does the law guarantee basic labour protection to the platform workers? Yes 1 Social Security Act 2018; ISSA Country Profile for New Zealand
No Change

Child & Forced Labour - 75

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law prohibit the employment of children? Yes 1 Section 54 of the Education and Training Act 2020
No Change
Does the law set employment entry age equal to or higher than the compulsory schooling age? Yes 1 Section 35 of the Education and Training Act 2020
No Change
Does the law prohibit the employment of young persons in hazardous work under the age of 18 years? No 0 Reg. 43 of the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016
No Change
Does the law prohibit forced labour? Yes 1 Section 98D of the Crimes Act 1961
No Change

Freedom of Association - 100

Question Answer Score Legal Basis Trend
Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice? Yes 1 §8-11 of Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change
Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions? Yes 1 §13-18, 32-34 & 40-50 of Employment Relations Act, 2000
No Change
Does the law provide the right to strike? Yes 1 §81, 82A-96, Schedule 1 of the Employment Relations Act, 2000; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (New Zealand Profile)
No Change
Does the law prohibit imposing excessive sanctions against striking workers, including replacement of such workers? Yes 1 §97 of Employee Relations Act, 2000; ITUC Global Rights Index 2024 (New Zealand Profile)
No Change

*In order to measure the trend in country’s legislative performance over the last edition of the Labour Rights Index (2022), the following legend is used.

Score increase

Score decrease

Score adjustment

Methodological change

No change