New Zealand Expands Temporary Agency Employee Rights

Starting 27 Jun 2020, workers supplied by temporary agencies to work for user organizations — a so-called “triangular relationship” — will be allowed to make personal grievance claims directly against the user organization that controls or directs their day-to-day work. Employers using these workers will no longer have protection from grievance claims under the Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Act 2019, which received Royal Assent on 27 Jun 2019. Temporary staff with grievances currently must first ask the Employment Relations Authority to determine the nature of the relationship between the user organization and the worker.

Features of the Act

• Employees will generally have 90 days from the date of the occurrence to file a personal grievance claim.
• The employee or the temporary agency can add the user organization to the employee’s grievance claim by applying to the Employment Relations Authority.
• The authority or the court can initiate a motion for the user organization to join the proceedings if it caused or contributed to the cause of the grievance.
• The Employment Relations Authority can apportion liability between the employer and the user organization for any compensation or remedies awarded to the employee.

Related Resources

• Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Act 2019 (New Zealand Parliamentary Counsel Office, 27 Jun 2019)