Employment law update: what's changed, what's coming, and what to watch

It's been a busy few months for employment law in Aotearoa, and the pace isn't letting up. As always, our aim is to help employers understand what's changing, what it means for your organisation, and what you should be doing to prepare.

In this update, we cover three areas employers across Aotearoa should have on their radar:  

• Health and safety changes: what the July 2026 law changes mean and require of employers.  

• Leave reform: the latest on the Employment Leave Bill which would replace the Holidays Act 2003.

• Transition period for high earner changes: a reminder about the transition period for changes to dismissal protection for high earners.

Please reach out to the team at Humankind with any questions or to talk through what these updates might mean for your organisation. ‍

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Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 - now law

The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 9 July 2026. It's the most significant overhaul of our health and safety framework since the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) came into force.  Importantly, the Act doesn't replace the HSWA - the core framework stays, but the emphasis shifts. Most changes come into force on 1 April 2027, to give organisations time to understand and implement the changes. ‍

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What's changing?

• A new focus on ‘critical risks’: A critical risk is one that, if it occurs, is likely to result in death, a notifiable injury or illness, a notifiable incident, or an occupational disease. Rather than expecting every business to manage every possible risk with equal effort, the new law requires PCBUs to focus on the hazards most likely to cause death or serious harm.  A new schedule in the HSWA automatically treats certain hazards (such as asbestos and hazardous substances) as critical, and businesses must now actively prioritise managing these risks, not just identify them.  

• Lighter obligations for small businesses: A new ‘small PCBU’ category is being introduced for  businesses with fewer than 20 workers (with some allowance for fluctuating workforces). Small PCBUs will only be required to identify, assess and manage their critical risks, rather than every risk in the workplace. They must determine what their critical risks are, document those assessments, and ensure those risks are appropriately prioritised and controlled. They will also continue to have core health and safety obligations such as providing suitable facilities, maintaining a safe work environment, and ensuring workers receive appropriate support and supervision.

• Clearer duties for officers: Changes have also been made to officers’ duties under the HSWA. The Act now makes it clear that an officer’s due diligence duty will apply only to their governance role, not to activities they undertake in another capacity within the business. Due diligence has also been reframed as a defined set of obligations rather than an open-ended concept, while retaining most of the existing requirements. This is intended to provide greater clarity, so directors and boards better understand what's expected of them.  

• Clarity for landowners: Landowners generally won't owe health and safety duties to recreational users of their land - responsibility will sit with whoever runs the activity unless the recreational use is part of the landowner's own business.  

• Stronger, industry-led Codes of Practice: Industry groups, unions and employer organisations will be able to develop draft Approved Codes of Practice (ACOPs). Following a relevant ACOP will act as a "safe harbour", meaning a business is treated as having met its obligations for that risk.  

• A refocused regulator: WorkSafe's functions will be rearranged around critical risks, guidance and codes of practice, with an educate-first approach and prosecution treated as a last resort.  

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What this means for employers

For most employers, focusing on identifying your organisation's critical risks will be an important first step. It's also worth checking whether your organisation meets the "small PCBU" definition, reviewing how health and safety responsibilities are split between your board and management, and keeping an eye out for any ACOPs relevant to your industry. WorkSafe is developing guidance ahead of the 2027 start date.  

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Employment Leave Bill – progress update

In our October update, we explained the Government's plan to replace the often-challenging Holidays Act 2003 with a simpler, clearer leave framework. That plan has now taken a significant step forward - the Employment Leave Bill was introduced in March 2026, and on 13 July 2026 the Education and Workforce Committee recommended the Bill proceed. The committee suggested some amendments to improve how the law will work in practice, but the core reforms remain unchanged.  

As a reminder, the proposed framework would introduce several substantial changes, including:

• Introducing new categories of working hours: these categories (‘standard hours’, ‘additional hours’, and ‘casual hours’) would determine how leave is accrued and paid.

• Annual leave: A shift to annual leave being accrued in hours from the first day of employment on an hours-worked basis (0.0769 hours for each standard hour worked). Employees would be able to request to cash up 25% of their annual leave balance per year.  

• Sick leave: A shift to sick leave being accrued in hours from the first day of employment on an hours-worked basis (0.0385 hours for each standard hour worked), up to a maximum of 160 hours (for a 40-hour per week worker).

• Bereavement and family violence leave: these leave types would be available from the first day of employment. Unlike annual and sick leave, these entitlements would continue to be days-based.  

• New ‘otherwise working day’ calculation: a new formula would apply when determining if a day would have ‘otherwise been a working day’ for employees without regular patterns of work. This new calculation would look at whether the employee worked the day 50% or more over the past 13 weeks.

• Leave payments: Under the Bill, all leave types would be paid at the same hourly rate. Variable components like bonuses and commissions would not be included in the leave pay calculation (although fixed allowances would be paid in full).  

• Leave compensation payment: a new LCP payment, equivalent to 12.5% of the employee’s ordinary hourly pay, would be paid to casual employees and waged staff working extra hours beyond their standard contracted hours, instead of the employee accruing annual and sick leave.

• Public holiday entitlements: Employees who work on a public holiday that would otherwise have been a working day for them would be entitled to time and a half for any hours actually worked, paid leave for any unworked hours, and an alternative holiday that can be taken as leave or cashed up at any time.  

• Pay statements: Employers would be required to provide pay statements to employees, setting out specified information about their leave entitlements.

What this means for employers

The Bill will now move to its second reading, then a committee stage and third reading before it can become law. The Government has signalled it wants the legislation passed before the general election in November. Although that news has some employers feeling anxious about putting any changes in place, if the legislation passes, there will be a two-year implementation period before it takes effect, giving employers and payroll providers time to adjust their systems.  

For now, nothing changes: the Holidays Act 2003 still applies. But this is a good time to start thinking about your employment agreements and payroll systems, so you're not caught out later.

Changes to dismissal protections for high-earners - transition period reminder

Finally, a reminder about the high-earner dismissal threshold changes. As we covered in our earlier update, the Employment Relations Amendment Act took effect on 21 February 2026 and means that employees earning $200,000 gross or more a year (adjusted annually and based on the past year’s earnings) can no longer raise a personal grievance in relation to their dismissal (unless they and their employer have agreed in writing to keep the dismissal protections).  

For existing employees (those already employed and earning $200,000 or above at the time the new legislation took effect), a 12-month transition period applies before the threshold applies to them. This 12-month transition period ends in February 2027 which means we are almost halfway through the window. With that in mind, now is the time to:

• Discuss and agree your organisation’s approach to the new law.

• Identify your existing high-earning employees (i.e. those employed by your organisation when the legislation came into effect and whose remuneration meets or exceeds the threshold).

• Consider whether you will be open to renegotiating dismissal protections or any other terms with these employees before the end of the transition period.  

Keeping you in the loop

It can be hard to keep track of what's law, what's coming, and what it all means in practice. The team at Humankind is watching these developments closely and will keep you updated as things progress. In the meantime, if you'd like to talk through what any of these changes mean for your organisation and how to prepare, please get in touch - we're always happy to help.

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