The main type of parental leave: up to 26 weeks off, in one continuous period, for the person who is pregnant or gives birth, or who takes permanent primary responsibility for a child under 6. You need six months with the same employer, averaging at least 10 hours a week. It starts on the due date or the birth, whichever is first, or up to 6 weeks earlier if you choose.
Glossary
The NZ work and job hunting glossary
157 words and phrases you meet looking for work, starting a job, being paid and leaving one in New Zealand, each explained in plain English with the official page that says so. Free to read, no sign-up. Each term links to the article or guide that covers it properly.
0 to 9
- 90-day trial period (also trial period, 90 day trial, trial clause)
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A 90-day trial period lets an employer dismiss a new employee within the first 90 calendar days without the usual process, and you generally cannot raise a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal if it does. It is only valid if you have not worked for that employer before and it is in an agreement you signed before starting work. Every other right, including pay, leave and protection from discrimination, still applies during the trial.
A
- ACC earners' levy (also earners levy, ACC levy, ACC deduction)
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A flat-rate levy on your earnings that pays for ACC cover of injuries outside work. For employees it is deducted with income tax as part of PAYE, on earnings up to a yearly maximum, and the rate and the maximum can change each year. It is not taken from redundancy payments, schedular payments or tax-free allowances.
- ACC weekly compensation (also weekly compensation, ACC payments, ACC 80%)
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ACC weekly compensation replaces part of your income when an injury ACC covers stops you doing some or all of your usual work. It is up to 80% of what you earned before the injury, before tax, and usually starts from day 8; for an injury at work, your employer pays 80% of your usual pay for the first week. If you return on reduced hours, ACC reduces the payment so your total is not more than your usual pay.
- Accommodation Supplement (also accommodation benefit, housing supplement, rent help)
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Accommodation Supplement is a weekly Work and Income payment that helps with rent, board or the cost of owning a home. It is not only for people on a benefit: how much you get depends on your income, your assets, your housing costs, your family and where you live, and you must be 16 or over, a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and not renting public (social) housing. It is not taxed.
- Accredited Employer Work Visa (also AEWV, accredited employer visa, work visa sponsorship)
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The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) is New Zealand's main employer-sponsored work visa. You need an offer of full-time work from an employer Immigration New Zealand has accredited, for a job that has passed a job check, and you must meet its skill and pay requirements. It is tied to that employer and job: changing either means applying to vary the visa, for a Job Change or for a new visa.
- Allowance (also allowances, taxable allowance, car allowance)
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An extra payment on top of salary or wages for a particular purpose, such as travel, meals, clothing, tools or accommodation, usually set by the employment agreement. Most allowances are taxable: they are added to your gross pay and taxed through PAYE. A tax-free allowance, such as one that reimburses your actual work costs, is added after tax.
- Alternative holiday (also day in lieu, lieu day, day off in lieu)
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A paid day off you get for working on a public holiday that falls on a day you would otherwise work, on top of at least time and a half for the hours worked. It is a full day off however long you worked, taken on a day you agree with your employer or, if you cannot agree, one it sets with at least 14 days' notice. Alternative holidays do not expire, and any not taken are paid out when you leave.
- Annual holidays (also annual leave, holidays, annual leave entitlement)
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Paid time off for rest and recreation. After each 12 months of continuous employment with the same employer, you are entitled to at least four weeks' paid annual holidays. They do not build up day by day in law, even if your payslip shows accrued leave, so before 12 months you can take holidays in advance only if your employer agrees.
- Applicant tracking system (ATS) (also ATS, recruitment software, CV screening software)
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An applicant tracking system (ATS) is the software many New Zealand employers and recruitment agencies use to receive applications, store CVs and move candidates through a hiring process. Some can decline an application automatically, most often on a screening question such as the right to work, but shortlisting is usually done by people using the system's search, filters and ratings.
- Assessment centre (also assessment center, assessment day)
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An assessment centre is several selection exercises in one session, in person or online, usually alongside other applicants: typically a group exercise, a case study, sometimes a short presentation, and an interview. Graduate programmes often use one. Treat the whole session as the assessment; the group exercise is about how you work with others, not who talks most.
- Availability provision (also availability clause, on call, on-call clause)
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An availability provision is a clause in an employment agreement that requires you to be available for work beyond your guaranteed hours, in case the employer needs you. Under section 67D of the Employment Relations Act 2000 it is only enforceable if your agreement sets guaranteed hours, the employer has genuine reasons based on reasonable grounds, and you are paid reasonable compensation for being available. Without a valid one, you can say no to extra work and must not be treated worse for it.
- Average daily pay (also ADP)
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Your gross earnings over the last 52 weeks divided by the number of days you worked or were on paid leave in that time. An employer may use it instead of relevant daily pay for public holidays, alternative holidays, and sick, bereavement and family violence leave, but only when relevant daily pay is not possible or practicable to work out, or your daily pay varies within the pay period.
B
- Bargaining fee (also bargaining fee clause, union bargaining fee, non-member fee)
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A bargaining fee is a payment to a union by an employee who is not a member but whose work is covered by a collective agreement, in return for being employed on that collective's terms. It only applies where the collective has a bargaining fee clause agreed in a secret ballot, it cannot be more than the union's membership fee, and you can opt out by telling your employer in writing within the period the collective sets.
- Behavioural interview (also behavioral interview, competency-based interview, tell me about a time)
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A behavioural interview asks about things you have already done, with questions such as "Tell me about a time when...", on the idea that how you handled a situation before is the best guide to how you will handle it again. Each question usually scores a quality such as teamwork, handling conflict or solving problems, and the STAR method is the usual way to answer.
- Bereavement leave (also compassionate leave, funeral leave)
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Paid leave when someone dies. After six months with your employer, you get at least 3 days for the death of an immediate family member, such as a parent, child, partner, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild or parent-in-law, and for a miscarriage or stillbirth, and at least 1 day for anyone else if your employer accepts you have suffered a bereavement. You choose when to take it.
- Bonus (also bonuses, annual bonus, performance bonus)
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A payment on top of your usual pay, for performance, results or as a one-off. For an employee it is taxable pay: a regular bonus is added to the pay it comes with and taxed as usual, while an annual or special bonus is taxed as an extra pay, at the rate your yearly pay plus the bonus reaches, which is why it can look heavily taxed. KiwiSaver is usually deducted from it too.
- Bullying (also workplace bullying, bullying at work, bullied at work)
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Employment New Zealand describes workplace bullying as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards an employee or a group of employees that can cause physical or mental harm. A single or occasional incident of rude behaviour is not bullying, but should not be ignored. Your employer has a duty to deal with it, and if it does not, you may be able to raise a personal grievance, usually within 90 days.
C
- Case manager (also WINZ case manager, Work and Income case manager, MSD case manager)
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A case manager is the Work and Income staff member you talk with at appointments. They go over your situation, check your identity documents, make sure you get everything you qualify for and tell you what to do next. If you are on Jobseeker Support, meeting your case manager and telling them how your job search is going, and what you have done to find or prepare for work, is one of your obligations.
- Cashing up annual holidays (also cash up, cashing up leave, cash out annual leave)
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Asking your employer in writing to pay you for up to one week of your four weeks' annual holidays each year, instead of taking it as time off. You can ask only once you are entitled to the holidays, your employer can say no without giving a reason, and it can never be made a condition of your job or part of pay negotiations.
- Casual employment (also casual work, casual job, casual worker)
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Casual employment is not defined in law, but usually means you work only when it suits both you and the employer, with no guaranteed hours, no regular pattern and no expectation of ongoing work, and you can turn work down. What counts is how the work actually runs, not the label: if a regular pattern develops, you may in fact be a permanent part-time employee.
- Citizens Advice Bureau (also CAB, Citizens Advice)
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Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) gives free, confidential and independent information and advice to anyone, on everyday matters such as employment, money, housing and consumer problems. More than 2,000 trained volunteers run it from more than 80 locations, and you can also call free on 0800 367 222. It helps you understand your rights and find the services you need.
- Clean Slate scheme (also clean slate, Clean Slate Act, Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004)
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The Clean Slate scheme lets you say you have no criminal record in New Zealand if, among other conditions, you have had no convictions for 7 years, have never had a custodial sentence or a conviction for a specified offence, and have paid any court-ordered fines or reparation. It is automatic. Some roles, such as police, prison, probation, judicial and national security jobs, still need your full record, and the scheme does not apply overseas.
- Closedown (also annual closedown, Christmas closedown, shutdown)
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A period each year when a workplace, or part of it, shuts, often over Christmas, and staff are required to take annual holidays. An employer can have one in any 12-month period and must give at least 14 days' notice. If you are not yet entitled to annual holidays, you are paid 8% of your gross earnings to date and your holidays anniversary date moves.
- Closing date (also application deadline, applications close)
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A closing date is the date an employer says it will stop taking applications. It is not a guarantee: many start shortlisting before it, and some fill the role early. No law sets closing dates for job ads, so each employer decides how to run its own, and public sector dates tend to be firmer than private ones.
- Collective agreement (also collective employment agreement, CEA, collective contract)
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A collective agreement is an employment agreement negotiated between a registered union and an employer, and it covers union members whose work falls within its coverage clause. It must cover at least two employees and set out pay rates, and it usually expires within three years. Since 21 February 2026, new employees no longer start on the collective's terms for their first 30 days: you choose from day one whether to join the union and be covered by it.
- Commission (also commissions, sales commission, OTE)
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Pay based on sales you make or targets you meet, often a percentage of each sale, either on its own or on top of a base wage or salary. For an employee it is added to that period's pay and taxed through PAYE, and every hour must still be paid at least the minimum wage. An offer quoting on-target earnings (OTE) assumes you hit 100% of target, so ask how many of the team actually do.
- Community Law (also Community Law Centre, community law centres, free legal advice)
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Community Law is a network of Community Law Centres around New Zealand that give free legal help, from the online Community Law Manual and workshops to one-on-one advice from a lawyer. The one-on-one help is aimed at people who do not have much money, such as people on a benefit or a low income. The Manual covers topics including starting and leaving a job and dealing with Work and Income.
- Confidentiality clause (also confidentiality agreement, non-disclosure clause, NDA)
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A confidentiality clause is a term in an employment agreement that says what information you must keep private, during your job and after it ends. Even without one, you must keep your employer's trade secrets and highly confidential information private. Since 27 August 2025, your employer cannot dismiss or disadvantage you for discussing your own pay, whatever a clause says.
- Constructive dismissal (also forced to resign, forced resignation, pushed out of a job)
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Constructive dismissal is when you resign but the law treats it as if your employer dismissed you, because their conduct left you no real choice: for example, being told to resign or be dismissed, deliberate pressure to resign, or a serious breach of their obligations. It is a type of unjustified dismissal, so you raise it as a personal grievance, usually within 90 days, and it can be hard to prove.
- Consultation (also consultation period, feedback period, proposal for change)
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Consultation is the step in a restructure where your employer shares a proposal that could affect your job, with its reasons and the information behind it, gives you a reasonable time to consider it, get advice and give feedback, and genuinely considers that feedback before deciding. It is part of the duty of good faith in the Employment Relations Act 2000. There is no fixed number of days.
- Contract role (also contract job, contracting, fixed-term contract)
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A contract role usually means one of two different things in New Zealand: a fixed-term job, where you are an employee until a set date or event, or work as an independent contractor under a contract for services, where you invoice for your work. A genuine contractor is not covered by the minimum wage, paid holidays or personal grievance rights, so check which one an ad means.
- Counter-offer
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A counter-offer is what your current employer offers, usually more pay, to keep you once you resign or say you have another job. The word is also used for your reply to a job offer asking for better terms. Before accepting one, check it fixes the reasons you started looking, and get it in writing: an employer does not have to let you withdraw a resignation.
- Cover letter (also covering letter, application letter)
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A cover letter is a one-page letter sent with your CV that shows you have read the employer's ad and can do what it asks. It usually names the role, gives one specific reason you want it, and answers the two or three requirements the ad leads with, each with one piece of proof from your CV, rather than repeating the CV.
- CV (also curriculum vitae, resume, résumé)
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A CV (curriculum vitae) is the document that sets out your work history, skills and education when you apply for a job; in New Zealand it is usually called a CV rather than a résumé. Two to three pages is normal here, newest role first, with achievements rather than duties, and no photo, date of birth or marital status.
D
- Disciplinary process (also disciplinary meeting, disciplinary action, disciplinary investigation)
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A disciplinary process is the steps an employer takes when it believes an employee may have committed misconduct, and it can end in a warning or, in serious cases, dismissal. The employer must have a good reason and follow a fair process: tell you the concerns in writing, investigate, give you a real chance to respond, with a support person or representative if you wish, and genuinely consider your answer before deciding.
- Discrimination (also workplace discrimination, prohibited grounds, Human Rights Act grounds)
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Discrimination at work is being treated less favourably than other employees in similar circumstances, dismissed, or pushed to resign, because of a ground in the Human Rights Act 1993: sex (including pregnancy), marital or family status, religious or ethical belief, colour, race, ethnic or national origins, disability, age, political opinion, employment status or sexual orientation. You can raise a personal grievance or complain to the Human Rights Commission, but not both.
- Dismissal (also fired, sacked, terminated)
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Dismissal is when your employer ends your employment, also called being sacked or fired. Your employer must generally have a good reason, follow a fair process, act in good faith and give notice, unless it is for serious misconduct, and if it does not, you can usually raise a personal grievance. Different rules apply on a trial period or, since 21 February 2026, if you earn $200,000 or more a year.
E
- Employee or contractor (also contractor gateway test, gateway test, dependent contractor)
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An employee works under an employment agreement and is protected by employment law; a contractor is in business on their own account, with no minimum wage, paid leave or personal grievance rights. Since 21 February 2026, a gateway test makes you a contractor if your written agreement says so, you may work for others, you can choose when to work or subcontract, you can turn down extra work without losing the arrangement, and you had a reasonable chance to get advice first. Otherwise, the real nature of the relationship decides.
- Employer KiwiSaver contribution (also employer contribution, compulsory employer contribution, CEC)
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What your employer must pay into your KiwiSaver account, on top of your pay, if you are a contributing member aged 16 or over and under 65: generally at least 3.5% of your gross pay from 1 April 2026, or 3% if you have a temporary rate reduction and your employer chooses to match it. Tax (ESCT) is deducted from it first. It stops during a savings suspension unless your agreement says otherwise, and it sits inside a total remuneration package only if you agree.
- Employment agreement (also employment contract, contract of employment, contract of service)
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An employment agreement is the written document that sets out the terms and conditions of your job, such as your duties, hours, pay and where you work. Every employee in New Zealand must have one in writing, and before you sign, your employer must give you a copy and a reasonable chance to get independent advice. It can never give you less than your minimum legal rights, even if you agree.
- Employment Court (also Employment Court of New Zealand, challenge an ERA decision, de novo challenge)
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The Employment Court is New Zealand's specialist court for employment law. It hears challenges to decisions of the Employment Relations Authority, which must be filed within 28 days of the written decision, decides questions of law, and deals first with some matters, such as strikes and lockouts, or cases the Authority sends straight to it.
- Employment Leave Act 2026 (also Employment Leave Bill, new leave law)
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The law that replaces the Holidays Act 2003 on 6 August 2028. It became law on 6 August 2026 and changes how leave is earned, taken and paid: annual leave and sick leave build up by the hour from your first day, and casual and additional hours earn a leave compensation payment of at least 12.5% of the ordinary hourly rate instead. Until it starts, the Holidays Act applies.
- Employment New Zealand (also employment.govt.nz, MBIE, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment)
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Employment New Zealand is the name the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) uses for its information and help on employment rights and obligations. MBIE's free Employment Mediation Services and the Labour Inspectorate sit alongside it. Employment New Zealand's website, employment.govt.nz, sets out the rules in plain English, and it takes calls on 0800 20 90 20.
- Employment Relations Act 2000 (also Employment Relations Act, ER Act, employment law)
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The Employment Relations Act 2000 is New Zealand's main employment law. It sets the rules on employment agreements, good faith, unions and collective bargaining, trial periods, flexible working and personal grievances, and it set up the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court. It was significantly amended by the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026, from 21 February 2026.
- Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 (also 2026 employment law changes, Employment Relations Amendment Bill, employment law changes February 2026)
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The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 changed New Zealand employment law from 21 February 2026. It introduced the gateway test for contractors, generally stopped people earning $200,000 or more a year from bringing unjustified dismissal grievances, cut remedies where an employee's own behaviour contributed to a grievance, and removed the rule that new employees start on a collective agreement's terms for 30 days.
- Employment Relations Authority (also the Authority, ERA, employment tribunal)
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The Employment Relations Authority is the independent body that investigates and decides employment relationship problems that have not been resolved, such as personal grievances and unpaid wages. It is less formal than a court and decides on the merits, not technicalities. There is a fee to apply, and its decision is binding, though either side can challenge it in the Employment Court within 28 days.
- ESCT (employer superannuation contribution tax) (also employer superannuation contribution tax, ESCT rate, tax on employer KiwiSaver)
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The tax deducted from your employer's contributions to your KiwiSaver or other super fund before they reach your account, so less arrives than the percentage in your agreement. The rate, from 10.5% to 39%, is set at the start of each tax year from your salary or wages plus employer contributions in the previous year, or an estimate if you are new.
- Exit interview (also exit survey, leaving interview, exit questionnaire)
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An exit interview is a conversation, or sometimes a form, in which your employer asks why you are leaving and what could be better, before or after you go. Employment New Zealand says they are not required. Be honest but measured, and raise a serious problem such as bullying or unpaid wages through the proper process instead.
- Extra pay (lump sum) (also lump sum payment, lump sum tax, extra pays)
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Inland Revenue's term for a one-off payment outside your regular pay, such as an annual bonus, back pay, a redundancy payment or holiday pay paid when you leave. Its tax rate is set by turning your recent pay into a yearly figure, usually from the last four weeks, or the last two pay periods when your job ends, and adding the lump sum. Overtime and regular payments are not extra pays.
F
- Family violence leave (also domestic violence leave)
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Paid leave of up to 10 days a year if you, or a child who lives with you, are affected by family violence, however long ago it happened. You qualify after six months with your employer. It does not carry over to the next year or get paid out when you leave, and you can also ask in writing for short-term flexible working for up to two months.
- Final pay (also termination pay, final payout, holiday pay when you leave)
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Final pay is the last payment you receive when your employment ends, covering all money owed up to the end: your final wages, all the holiday pay you are entitled to, and any other payments owing, such as a payment under your agreement or a leaving package. The final holiday payment must be paid on or before the pay day of your final pay period. Unused sick leave is not paid out by law unless your agreement says so.
- Fixed-term employment (also fixed term, fixed-term contract, fixed-term agreement)
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Fixed-term employment ends on a set date, at a set event or when a project finishes, and New Zealand law only allows it for a genuine reason based on reasonable grounds, such as covering parental leave or seasonal work, written into the agreement with how the job will end. It cannot be used to test whether you suit a permanent role, and if the rules are not met, the employer may not be able to rely on the end date.
- Flexi-wage (also wage subsidy, Flexi-wage subsidy)
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Flexi-wage is a Work and Income scheme that pays an employer a contribution towards your wages, and can add training and ongoing support, while you learn the skills a job needs. It is for people likely to need a benefit for a long time without it, who have not worked for a long time or find it hard to get or keep a job. The job must pay at least the minimum wage and generally continue after Flexi-wage ends.
- Flexible working request (also flexible working, flexible work arrangement, working from home request)
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A flexible working request is a written request to change your hours, days or place of work, made under Part 6AA of the Employment Relations Act 2000. Any employee can ask at any time, for any reason, and your employer must answer in writing within one month. It can only refuse on one of eight business grounds listed in the Act, such as the cost or an effect on quality, and must explain why.
- Fringe benefit tax (also FBT, fringe benefit, perks tax)
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A tax your employer pays on non-cash benefits it gives you, such as a company car available for private use, a low-interest loan, subsidised transport, free or discounted goods and services, or group insurance. Because the employer pays FBT, you pay no income tax on the benefit, which is why a perk can be worth more than the same amount added to your salary.
G
- Garden leave (also leave in lieu of notice, gardening leave, leave instead of notice)
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Garden leave, which Employment New Zealand also calls leave in lieu of notice, means you stay employed and on full pay for your notice period but do not go to work. It does not use your annual holidays, and it needs agreement, through a clause in your employment agreement or at the time, recorded in writing. You are still bound by your agreement, including any lawful restriction on working for another employer.
- Ghost job (also ghost listing, ghost job ad, fake job ad)
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A ghost job is an ad for a role the employer is not actively trying to fill, often one never taken down, one kept up to collect CVs, or one testing the market. The usual signs are an ad up for weeks or reposted, a vague description with no named contact, and a role missing from the employer's own careers page. Unlike a scam, it wants nothing from you.
- Ghosting (also ghosted, employer ghosting)
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Ghosting is when an employer or recruiter stops replying partway through a real hiring process, with no rejection and no explanation. It is common, and it is different from a ghost job, where the role was never being filled. A practical rule is one short follow-up about a week after your last contact, then closing the application yourself at about three weeks of silence.
- Good faith (also duty of good faith, good faith obligations, acting in good faith)
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Good faith is the duty, under the Employment Relations Act 2000, for employers, employees and unions to deal with each other honestly and openly: not misleading or deceiving each other, and being responsive and communicative. Before a decision that could cost you your job, your employer must generally give you the relevant information and a chance to comment. That part does not apply to a dismissal during a valid trial period or, since 21 February 2026, of someone earning $200,000 or more.
- Graduate programme (also graduate program, grad programme, graduate scheme)
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A graduate programme is an entry-level job with structured training for a set period, often with rotations between teams, for people finishing or recently finished a degree. In New Zealand most start in February and are hired most of a year ahead: banks, professional services firms and public service agencies usually open applications between March and August.
- Green List (also Green List roles, Straight to Residence, Work to Residence)
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The Green List is Immigration New Zealand's list of roles it needs workers for, with a path to residence. A Tier 1 role can lead straight to a residence visa, and a Tier 2 role to one after 2 years working in it here, if you have the qualifications, registration or experience it sets. Employers hiring for a Green List role on an AEWV do not have to advertise it first.
- Gross pay (also gross salary, pay before tax, gross earnings)
-
Your pay before anything comes out: the salary or wages in your employment agreement for the period, plus any overtime, bonuses and taxable allowances. PAYE, KiwiSaver and student loan repayments are each worked out from it, and your payslip usually shows it for the pay period and the year to date.
H
- Handover (also handing over, handover document, handover notes)
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A handover is passing your work on before you leave: a short written note of what you do, what is in progress, where things live, who to contact and what is coming up, plus time walking your replacement or manager through it. Employment New Zealand says the notice period gives time for handing over work, and your employer may ask you to do it before you go.
- Hardship assistance (also hardship grant, emergency grant, WINZ grant)
-
Hardship assistance is Work and Income's one-off help with an urgent, essential or unexpected cost you cannot pay any other way, such as food, a power bill, car repairs or dental treatment, and it can be available even if you are working. It comes as a Special Needs Grant, an Advance Payment of Benefit if you are on a benefit, or a Recoverable Assistance Payment if you are not. An Advance Payment of Benefit and a Recoverable Assistance Payment must both be paid back.
- High-income threshold (also $200,000 threshold, remuneration threshold, specified remuneration threshold)
-
The high-income threshold is pay of $200,000 a year, at or above which an employee generally cannot bring a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal, and the employer need not give a reason or follow a fair process to dismiss them. It applies from 21 February 2026, with a transition for people dismissed before 21 February 2027 from a position they held immediately before 21 February 2026. The threshold can rise each 1 July from 2027, and you can agree in writing with your employer to opt back in.
- Holiday pay (also annual holiday pay, 8% holiday pay, pay-as-you-go holiday pay)
-
What you are paid for annual holidays: at least the greater of your ordinary weekly pay and your average weekly earnings over the last 12 months. Instead of four weeks off, holiday pay can be added to each pay as at least 8% of gross earnings, but only on a genuine fixed-term agreement of less than 12 months, or where work is so irregular that four weeks off is impracticable, and only if agreed. Being called casual is not enough by itself.
- Holidays Act 2003 (also Holidays Act)
-
The law that sets New Zealand's minimum annual holidays, public holidays, alternative holidays, and sick, bereavement and family violence leave, and how each is paid. Employers must follow it until 6 August 2028, when the Employment Leave Act 2026 replaces it, and cannot start following the new rules early.
I
- Income tax assessment (also tax refund, end of year tax, tax square-up)
-
Inland Revenue's calculation of your income tax for the tax year, 1 April to 31 March, which shows whether you paid the right amount, are due a refund or owe more. If your only income was salary, wages or already-taxed interest, it works this out automatically, from the last weekend in May, and pays any refund into the bank account it has on file.
- Independent earner tax credit (IETC) (also IETC, ME tax code, independent earner credit)
-
A tax credit of up to $520 a year for New Zealand tax residents with income between $24,000 and $70,000, reducing for income above $66,000 (the income limits since July 2024). It is not available if you or your partner get Working for Families, or you get an income-tested benefit, NZ Super or a Veteran's Pension. Employees can get it each pay with the ME tax code on their main job, or at the end of the year.
- Individual employment agreement (also IEA, individual agreement, individual contract)
-
An individual employment agreement is negotiated between you and your employer and applies only to you, unlike a collective agreement negotiated by a union. It must include, among other things, your name and your employer's, a description of the work, where you will work, your hours, your pay, time and a half for working a public holiday, and a plain explanation of how to resolve problems, including the 90-day and 12-month limits for a personal grievance.
- Internship (also summer internship, intern, unpaid internship)
-
An internship is a period of work experience, often a paid summer job for tertiary students. A paid intern is an employee, usually on a fixed-term agreement, owed at least the minimum wage and all the usual employment rights. An unpaid intern is a volunteer, and Employment New Zealand says the employer should get no economic benefit from that work, which should not be integral to the business.
J
- Job ad (also job advertisement, job listing, job posting)
-
A job ad is an employer's or recruiter's public notice of a vacancy, usually giving the role, location, duties, what it wants in the person and how to apply, and sometimes the pay and a closing date. Read it as the employer's wish list: separate the must-haves from the nice-to-haves, and turn what is left into a checklist for your application.
- Job board (also job site, jobs website, job search site)
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A job board is a website where employers and recruiters list vacancies and you search and apply. The main ones in New Zealand include Seek, LinkedIn, Indeed and ZEIL, with Student Job Search for students. Different employers favour different boards, and smaller employers often list on only one, so check employers' own careers pages too.
- Jobseeker Support (also Jobseeker, JSS, the dole)
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Jobseeker Support is Work and Income's weekly benefit for people who are looking for work, or who cannot work for now because of a health condition, injury or disability. You generally need to be 18 or over (20 with dependent children), a New Zealand citizen or resident who has lived here continuously for at least 2 years since becoming one, and under an income limit that counts a partner's income. It comes with obligations to look for or prepare for work, and you reapply every 26 weeks.
K
- KiwiSaver (also KiwiSaver scheme, KiwiSaver contributions, KiwiSaver rate)
-
New Zealand's voluntary, work-based savings scheme for retirement. As an employee member you put in a share of your gross pay, 3.5% by default from 1 April 2026 rising to 4% from 1 April 2028, or 4%, 6%, 8% or 10% if you choose; your employer usually adds at least the default rate, and the government may add a yearly contribution if you are eligible. Eligible new employees are usually enrolled automatically and can opt out.
- KiwiSaver government contribution (also government contribution, member tax credit, KiwiSaver tax credit)
-
The yearly amount the government adds to your KiwiSaver account: since 1 July 2025, 25 cents for every dollar you put in between 1 July and 30 June, up to $260.72. You need to be aged 16 to 65, generally live mainly in New Zealand, and have taxable income of $180,000 or less. Only your own contributions count, not your employer's, and your provider claims it after 30 June.
- KiwiSaver savings suspension (also savings suspension, savings break, contributions holiday)
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A break from KiwiSaver contributions from your pay, for 3 months to 1 year, applied for through Inland Revenue in myIR. You can have one once you have been a member and contributed for 12 months, with no reason needed, or sooner with evidence of financial hardship, and suspensions can run back to back. While it runs you do not get employer contributions unless your employment agreement says otherwise.
L
- Labour inspector (also Labour Inspectorate, labour inspectorate complaint, report an employer)
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A labour inspector is an MBIE officer, part of the Labour Inspectorate, who checks and enforces minimum employment standards, such as the minimum wage, holiday pay, leave, deductions from pay and wage and time records. Anyone can report a suspected breach, and inspectors can investigate and take enforcement action, including recovering money owed, but they do not advise on general disputes or contract terms above the minimums.
- Leave without pay (also unpaid leave, LWOP)
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Time off work without pay, which you can take only if your employer agrees: it is not an entitlement in law. You usually return to the same job on the same terms. A continuous stretch of more than a week pushes your annual holidays date back by the extra weeks, unless you and your employer agree to keep the date.
- Letter of offer (also offer letter, job offer, conditional offer)
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A letter of offer is the employer's written offer of a job, usually sent with the employment agreement after a verbal offer. Every employee must have a written employment agreement, and you can take it away, get advice, and ask for changes before you accept. You should only start work once you have agreed the terms and signed; an offer can be conditional on checks such as references.
M
- Mana in Mahi (also Mana in Mahi Strength in Work, Strength in Work)
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Mana in Mahi is a Work and Income programme that places you in paid work while you train towards an NZQA-approved qualification at apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship level. It is for people likely to need a benefit for a long time without it, who have not worked before or have been out of work for a long time. You get on-the-job training, extra learning support and in-work support, and any benefit continues until you start work.
- Matariki (also Matariki public holiday, Matariki Observance Day, Te Rā Aro ki a Matariki)
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The public holiday that marks the Māori New Year, observed on a Friday in June or July on a date set in law for each year: 10 July in 2026 and 25 June in 2027. It works like any other public holiday: a paid day off if it falls on a day you would otherwise work, or, if you work it on such a day, time and a half plus an alternative holiday.
- Mediation (also employment mediation, Employment Mediation Services, MBIE mediation)
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Employment mediation is a free, confidential process, run by MBIE's Employment Mediation Services, where you and your employer work through a problem with an independent mediator. It is usually voluntary and less formal than the Employment Relations Authority, you can bring a support person, union representative, advocate or lawyer, and anything you agree can be written down and made legally binding.
- Minimum wage (also adult minimum wage, starting-out wage, training minimum wage)
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The lowest hourly rate an employer can lawfully pay an employee aged 16 or over, for every hour worked, overtime included. From 1 April 2026 the adult rate is $23.95 an hour before tax. The starting-out and training rates, both $19.16, apply only in set cases, such as 16 and 17 year olds in their first six months with an employer, and trainees whose agreement requires industry training credits.
N
- Non-entitlement period (also 13-week non-entitlement period, 13 week stand-down, voluntary unemployment)
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A non-entitlement period is a wait of up to 13 weeks before Jobseeker Support is paid, generally because you left a job without a good and sufficient reason, were dismissed for misconduct, or turned down an offer of suitable work. Work and Income treats it as separate from the ordinary stand-down. Taking part in an approved activity for 6 continuous weeks ends the wait early, and a provisional benefit can usually be paid while you do it, which becomes a debt if you do not finish.
- Notice period (also notice, giving notice, reasonable notice)
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The notice period is the time between the day you or your employer gives notice and your last day of employment. Your employment agreement usually sets it, and if it does not, reasonable notice must be given, which Employment New Zealand says is generally 2 to 4 weeks. A shorter or longer period needs both of you to agree, and should be recorded in writing.
O
- Ordinary weekly pay (also OWP)
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What you are normally paid for an ordinary working week under your employment agreement, including regular overtime, regular allowances, regular commission and the cash value of board, but not one-off or discretionary payments. Annual holidays are paid at the greater of this and your average weekly earnings over the last 12 months. If it cannot be worked out, a formula averages your last four weeks' earnings.
- Otherwise working day (also OWD, otherwise working days, would otherwise work)
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A day you would have worked if it had not been a public holiday or a day of leave. It decides whether you get a paid day off for a public holiday, and an alternative holiday if you work one. Where it is not clear, you and your employer look at your agreement, your work pattern, rosters, and whether you would have worked but for the holiday.
- Overtime (also overtime rate, extra hours, time and a half)
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Work beyond your normal agreed hours. New Zealand law does not require a higher overtime rate such as time and a half: whether overtime is paid, and at what rate, depends on your employment agreement, and a salary can include it if the agreement says so. Every hour, overtime included, must be paid at least the minimum wage.
P
- Panel interview (also interview panel, structured interview)
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A panel interview is a job interview with two or more interviewers at once, common in the public sector and larger organisations. The panel usually asks prepared questions and rates each answer against the role's requirements, often from the position description. Talk to the whole panel, not only the person who asked, and expect behavioural questions suited to the STAR method.
- Parental leave (also maternity leave)
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Time off work, arranged with your employer, when you are having a baby or becoming the primary carer of a child under 6. After six months with the same employer, averaging at least 10 hours a week, you can take up to 26 weeks; after twelve months, up to 52. It is separate from parental leave payments, which come from Inland Revenue and have their own test.
- Parental leave payment (also paid parental leave, PPL, parental leave pay)
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Government-funded payments from Inland Revenue for up to 26 weeks while you are off work caring for a new baby or a child under 6. As an employee, you qualify if you worked an average of at least 10 hours a week in any 26 of the 52 weeks before the due date (or the date the child comes into your care), adding all your jobs together. Payments match your earnings up to a weekly maximum and are taxed like wages.
- Partner's leave (also partner leave, paternity leave)
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Unpaid leave for the spouse or partner of someone giving birth or becoming the primary carer of a child under 6: 1 week after six months with your employer, or 2 weeks after twelve months, averaging at least 10 hours a week. It usually starts between 21 days before the due date and 21 days after the birth, and parental leave payments do not cover it.
- Pay equity (also pay equity claim, equal pay for work of equal value, Equal Pay Act)
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Pay equity means equal pay for different work of equal value, under the Equal Pay Act 1972: two jobs that look different but need substantially similar skills, responsibility, effort, experience and conditions should be paid the same. Equal pay, by contrast, means the same pay for the same work. Since 14 May 2025 a claim needs work done by a workforce at least 70% female for the past 10 years, and reasonable grounds to believe it has been historically undervalued because of sex.
- Pay in lieu of notice (also payment in lieu of notice, PILON, payment instead of notice)
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Pay in lieu of notice means your employment ends when notice is given, and you are paid for the notice period in your final pay instead of working it. It needs some form of agreement, through a clause in your employment agreement or at the time, and the agreement should be recorded in writing. Unlike garden leave, you are no longer employed, so you can generally start a new job straight away, subject to any restraint of trade.
- Pay slip (pay statement) (also pay statement, pay advice, wage slip)
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A record of one pay, usually showing your gross pay, hours and rate, each deduction, your net pay, year-to-date totals and leave balances. An employer does not have to give you one unless your employment agreement says so, but it must keep wage, time, holiday and leave records, and you can ask for a copy of yours.
- PAYE (also pay as you earn, PAYE tax, income tax on wages)
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PAYE, short for pay as you earn, is the income tax and ACC earners' levy your employer deducts from your salary or wages before paying you, and passes on to Inland Revenue. How much comes out depends on the tax code you give your employer. Tax is charged in bands, so only the part of your income inside each band is taxed at that band's rate.
- Penal rates (also penal rate, shift allowance, weekend rate)
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Higher rates of pay for working particular days or shifts, such as nights and weekends, or extra hours. In New Zealand they are negotiated between employer and employee, in the employment agreement or as a one-off, not set by law. The one premium the law requires is at least time and a half for working a public holiday.
- Permanent part-time (also part-time, part-time employee, guaranteed hours)
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Permanent part-time employment is ongoing work with regular, agreed hours that are fewer than full-time, generally under 30 hours a week. The guaranteed hours are what separate it from casual work, and your employer cannot change them without your agreement. Permanent part-time employees have the same minimum entitlements and employment rights as full-time employees.
- Personal grievance (also PG, raising a personal grievance, grievance letter)
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A personal grievance is a formal complaint against your employer, or former employer, on a ground set out in the Employment Relations Act 2000, such as unjustified dismissal, unjustified disadvantage, discrimination or harassment. You usually have 90 days to raise it, or 12 months for sexual harassment. Raise it in writing, say what happened and what you want put right, and keep a copy.
- Phone screen (also phone screening interview, phone interview, screening call)
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A phone screen is a short call, usually 15 to 30 minutes, in which a recruiter or someone from HR checks that you meet the essentials, that you really want the role, and that your pay expectations fit their budget, before deciding who goes on to a full interview. Expect questions about your notice period and right to work too.
- Police vetting (also police vet, police check, vetting)
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Police vetting is a check by the New Zealand Police Vetting Service that only authorised agencies can request, with your signed consent, for roles involving the care of children or vulnerable people, the education of children, law enforcement, national security, or citizenship and visas. Where relevant to the role it can show more than convictions, such as pending charges. The agency decides whether you get the role, not Police, and you can ask it for a copy of the report.
- Primary carer leave (also primary carer, primary carer parental leave)
- Probationary period (also probation, probation period, probationary clause)
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A probationary period is a set time at the start of a new job, of any reasonable length, in which an employer checks whether you suit the role. Unlike a 90-day trial period, it can apply even if you have worked for the employer before, and you keep your personal grievance rights: to dismiss you, the employer must assess you fairly, tell you what is wrong, warn you and give you a chance to improve.
- Protected disclosure (also whistleblowing, whistleblower, Protected Disclosures Act)
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A protected disclosure, often called whistleblowing, is reporting serious wrongdoing in or by your organisation, such as an offence or a serious risk to health, safety or the environment, that you believe on reasonable grounds is happening or has happened. Under the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022, if you report it, not in bad faith, through your organisation's procedures, to its head or to an appropriate authority, your employer must not retaliate, and retaliation is grounds for a personal grievance.
- Psychometric test (also aptitude test, ability test, personality test)
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A psychometric test measures how you reason and how you tend to work. Common types are ability tests of numerical, verbal and abstract reasoning, situational judgement tests and personality questionnaires, usually taken online and timed. NZ Police, the Defence Force and many graduate programmes use them. A personality questionnaire has no right answers.
- Public holidays (also stat holiday, statutory holiday, public holiday pay)
-
The 12 days a year that New Zealand law sets as public holidays, including Matariki and your regional anniversary day. If one falls on a day you would otherwise work, you get a paid day off. If you work it, you are paid at least time and a half, plus an alternative holiday if it is a day you would otherwise work.
R
- Recruiter (also recruitment consultant, talent acquisition, in-house recruiter)
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A recruiter is the person who finds and screens candidates for a role. An agency recruiter works for a recruitment agency on behalf of a client employer; an in-house recruiter works for the employer itself. Either way, the recruiter's brief is to find someone the employer will hire, so ask for the employer's name and the pay range before your CV goes anywhere.
- Recruitment agency (also recruiting agency, employment agency, recruitment firm)
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A recruitment agency is a business that finds and screens candidates for employers, which pay it for the service. It either puts you forward to an employer that then employs you directly, or employs you itself and sends you on temp assignments. It is illegal for an employer to ask you for a fee to give you a job, so a charge to be put forward is a reason to walk away.
- Redeployment (also redeployed, alternative role, suitable alternative employment)
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Redeployment means moving an employee into another role in the organisation to avoid a redundancy. Before making you redundant, your employer must have explored all possibilities to find you another position. Generally you must accept redeployment to a role that is the same or similar, or you could lose your job and your entitlement to redundancy pay, but you do not have to accept a different role unless your agreement allows for it.
- Redundancy (also made redundant, laid off, layoff)
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Redundancy is when your employment ends because your position has become surplus to the requirements of the business. The reasons must be genuine, and your employer must follow a fair process, including consulting you and exploring redeployment first, and give you notice. Redundancy pay is not automatic in New Zealand: it depends on your employment agreement.
- Redundancy compensation (also redundancy pay, redundancy payment, severance pay)
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Redundancy compensation, or redundancy pay, is a payment for losing your job to redundancy, and New Zealand law does not require one. Employment New Zealand says whether you receive a redundancy payment depends on your employment agreement and any negotiations with your employer, and if the agreement does not mention redundancy pay, there would be no compensation. Where it is paid, it is taxed as a lump sum.
- Redundancy support (also Work and Income redundancy support, redeployment support, MSD redundancy help)
-
Redundancy support is a Work and Income service for people who have lost their job or may lose it, and it can start before the job ends, even before any decision is made. Someone from its team gets to know you, looks for jobs or training, connects you with employers, helps with your CV and cover letter, and organises any financial support you need between jobs. You ask for it by emailing RedeploymentSupport@msd.govt.nz.
- Referee (also referees, reference (the person))
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A referee is a person you name in a job application who can tell the employer about your work, usually a recent direct manager. Ask each one before you give their name, and brief them on the role. Under the Privacy Commissioner's guidance, an employer should contact only the referees you nominate, and needs your express consent to approach anyone else.
- Reference (also employment reference, reference letter, letter of reference)
-
A reference is what a current or former employer, usually a manager, says about your work to someone considering hiring you, spoken or written. Your employer does not have to give one unless it has agreed to, but any reference it does give must be truthful. It differs from a statement of service, which records your dates, because a reference is an opinion of how you worked.
- Reference check (also references, reference checking, backdoor reference)
-
A reference check is the stage, usually near the end of hiring, when the employer contacts your referees to ask about your work. It should only contact the referees you nominate, and needs your prior consent for other checks such as qualifications, criminal convictions, Police vetting or credit. You can ask for what a referee said, although a reference given in confidence can be withheld.
- Referral (also employee referral, job referral, warm introduction)
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A referral is when someone who knows you, usually a person inside the organisation, passes your name to the hiring manager or tells you about a role before it is advertised. It carries weight because it is a recommendation from someone the employer already trusts. Some employers pay staff a referral bonus. It is different from a referee, who speaks for you later in the process.
- Reimbursing allowance (also reimbursement, tax-free allowance, working from home allowance)
-
A payment that covers costs you actually incur because of your job, such as kilometres driven for work, tools, work clothing or the extra power and internet of working from home. It is not taxed when it is a reasonable estimate of those costs, and it can be paid as a regular allowance. Anything above your real costs is taxed as pay.
- Relevant daily pay (also RDP)
-
The amount you would have been paid if you had worked on the day. It is what you are paid for a public holiday you do not work, an alternative holiday, and sick, bereavement or family violence leave, and it includes overtime, commission and regular allowances you would have received that day. Your employment agreement can set a special rate, but never a lower one.
- Resignation (also resign, resigning, quitting)
-
Resignation is when you tell your employer you want to leave your job, also called quitting or handing in your notice. You can resign at any time, even while on leave, and it is best done in writing with your last day stated. Your employer cannot refuse it, but if you change your mind later, it does not have to let you withdraw it.
- Restraint of trade (also non-compete, non-competition clause, non-solicitation clause)
-
A restraint of trade clause limits what you can do after you leave a job, usually working for a competitor (non-competition) or approaching your old employer's clients (non-solicitation), for a set time and area. It is only enforceable if it protects a genuine business interest and goes no further than is reasonable, and a court or the Employment Relations Authority can narrow one that goes too far or refuse to enforce it.
- Restructure (also restructuring, workplace change, reorganisation)
-
A restructure, which Employment New Zealand calls workplace change, is when an employer makes changes that could affect employees' jobs, such as changing duties, disestablishing or merging roles, creating new roles or reducing staff numbers. The employer must have genuine business reasons, consult the employees likely to be affected and follow a fair and reasonable process. A restructure can lead to redundancy, but not every change does.
- Right to work in New Zealand (also work rights, working rights, entitlement to work)
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The right to work in New Zealand means being legally allowed to work here. New Zealand citizens, Australian citizens, residence class visa holders and people whose visa allows work all have it. Employers must check it before you start, often through Immigration New Zealand's VisaView, and many application forms ask about it as a first screening question.
S
- Salary (also annual salary, salaried, base salary)
-
Pay set as a fixed amount a year for the hours your employment agreement sets out, usually divided evenly across each pay. Being salaried does not mean unlimited hours: overtime is included only if the agreement says so, and every hour you work must still be paid at least the minimum wage.
- Salary band (also pay band, pay scale, pay range)
-
A range of pay, with lower and upper limits, for roles of the same or a similar size. Moving up within a band, sometimes through set steps, is progression; moving to a higher band, through a new job or a regraded one, is promotion. Public Service Commission guidance asks agencies to make their bands, and the roles each covers, available to staff and unions, and to put pay information in job ads or say it is available on request.
- Salary expectations (also expected salary, pay expectations, what are your salary expectations)
-
Salary expectations are the pay you say you are looking for when an employer or recruiter asks, often at the phone screen. A good answer is a researched range of about 10%, with the bottom set at a figure you would genuinely accept, saying whether it includes KiwiSaver, followed by asking for the role's pay band. You do not have to share your current salary.
- Schedular payments (withholding tax) (also schedular payment, withholding tax, WT tax code)
-
Payments to contractors for certain kinds of work, mainly the supply of labour, from which the payer deducts withholding tax at the rate the contractor chooses on an IR330C, using the WT code. Most can choose any rate of at least 10%, or 15% for non-residents and people on a temporary entry class visa; with no IR330C the payer must generally deduct 45%. No ACC earners' levy, KiwiSaver or student loan repayment is deducted.
- Secondary tax code (also secondary tax, second job tax, SB tax code)
-
The tax code for a second job, or any other salary or wages on top of your main income. There are five, SB, S, SH, ST and SA, chosen by your expected total income for the year from all sources, so tax on the extra income is deducted at the rate it actually falls into. The wrong code can leave you with a bill or a refund after the end of the tax year.
- Serious misconduct (also gross misconduct, misconduct, summary dismissal)
-
Serious misconduct is behaviour, usually at work but sometimes outside it, serious enough to undermine or destroy your employer's trust in you, such as theft, fraud, violence, harassment or dishonesty. After a fair process, it can justify dismissal without notice, often called instant or summary dismissal. Since 21 February 2026, if serious misconduct by an employee contributed to a grievance, the Employment Relations Authority or Employment Court cannot award any remedy.
- Sexual harassment (also harassment at work, sexual harassment grievance, unwelcome sexual behaviour)
-
Sexual harassment at work is a request for sexual activity that comes with a promise or threat about your job, or unwelcome or offensive sexual language, images or physical behaviour that, by its nature or through repetition, harms your employment, job performance or job satisfaction. Your employer must act on it, including when it comes from a co-worker or customer. You have 12 months to raise a personal grievance for it, rather than 90 days.
- Sick leave (also sick days, sick pay)
-
Paid leave when you are sick or injured, or caring for a sick partner, child or other dependant. After six months' continuous work for the same employer, or six months averaging at least 10 hours a week, you get 10 days a year, whether you are full-time, part-time or casual, and unused days carry over to a maximum of 20. Your employer can ask for proof, at your cost, if you are sick for three or more calendar days in a row.
- Speculative application (also cold application, speculative approach, cold email to an employer)
-
A speculative application is a short, targeted email to an employer that is not advertising, asking whether they have or expect a role that fits you. It works best with smaller organisations, a named person and a clear fit, and wastes everyone's time when it is a generic CV sent to a general inbox.
- Stand-down period (also stand down, benefit stand-down, WINZ stand-down)
-
A stand-down is a period, usually 1 or 2 weeks after a benefit application is approved, when Work and Income pays nothing. Its length depends on your average weekly income before tax over the last 26 or 52 weeks, which includes any redundancy payment, and on how many children you have. Holiday pay and pay in lieu of notice can push its start back, and because benefits are paid in arrears, there is no money in the first week after payments start either.
- STAR method (also STAR technique, STAR answers, situation task action result)
-
The STAR method answers a behavioural interview question with one real example in four parts: the Situation, the Task you were responsible for, the Action you took and the Result. Keep it to about two minutes, spend most of it on your own actions, and end with a result you can point to, ideally a number.
- Statement of service (also certificate of service, service certificate, employment certificate)
-
A statement of service, or certificate of service, is a record from your employer of the date you started and the date you left. Employment New Zealand says employers should provide one if you ask, and they can choose to add the positions you held and your reason for leaving. Unlike a reference, it records facts, not an opinion of your work.
- Student loan repayment threshold (also SL tax code, student loan deductions, student loan threshold)
-
The yearly income above which you repay your New Zealand student loan through your pay: 12% of every dollar over it, deducted when your tax code includes SL. It has been $24,128 a year since the 2024-25 tax year, set by regulation, and Inland Revenue breaks it into weekly, fortnightly and monthly amounts for each pay. The threshold does not apply to a second job, so 12% of every dollar from it generally goes to the loan unless you have a special deduction rate.
- StudyLink (also Student Allowance, student living costs, Student Loan living costs)
-
StudyLink is the Ministry of Social Development service that pays student support. A Student Allowance is a weekly payment for living costs that you do not pay back, generally for full-time students aged 18 to 65, and it depends on your income and, if you are under 24 with no children, your parents' income. Student Loan living costs is a weekly amount you borrow and repay. Full-time students generally cannot get Jobseeker Support.
- Suspension (also suspended from work, suspension on full pay, suspension without pay)
-
Suspension is when your employer removes you from the workplace for a limited time, usually during an investigation into your conduct or because of a health and safety risk. It should not be used as a punishment, it should follow a fair process, and it should be on full pay unless your employment agreement specifically allows suspension without pay. An unjustified suspension can be grounds for a personal grievance.
T
- Tailored tax code (also STC tax code, special tax code, IR23BS)
-
A tax code set by Inland Revenue for your own situation, when a standard code would leave you with a large refund or bill at the end of the tax year, as can happen with a small second job or income that changes a lot. You apply in myIR or on form IR23BS, give your employer the certificate and use the code STC, and apply again each tax year.
- Take-home pay (net pay) (also net pay, pay after tax, after-tax pay)
-
What actually reaches your bank account: your gross pay minus PAYE (income tax and the ACC earners' levy), your KiwiSaver contribution, any student loan repayments and any other deductions such as child support, plus any tax-free allowances. Your payslip usually shows it as net pay.
- Tax code (also tax codes, M tax code, M SL)
-
A short code, such as M, that tells your employer or payer how much tax to deduct from your pay, benefit or pension. You choose it on a tax code declaration (IR330): M for your main or highest income, ME if you qualify for the independent earner tax credit, a secondary code for any other job, with SL added if you have a student loan. With no code, tax is deducted at 45% plus the ACC earners' levy.
- Tax code declaration (IR330) (also IR330, IR330 form, tax declaration form)
-
The Inland Revenue form on which you tell your employer, or Work and Income, which tax code to use. You fill in one for each source of income, usually on your first day in a new job, and a new one when your circumstances change, such as taking out or paying off a student loan. Without one, your employer must deduct tax at the non-notified rate of 45% plus the ACC earners' levy.
- Technical redundancy (also technically redundant, business sale redundancy)
-
Technical redundancy is when a business sells its assets and its employees are offered jobs by the buyer: your employment with the old employer ends and, if you accept, you work for the new one. Employment agreements that provide for redundancy pay often say you are not entitled to it in a technical redundancy, so check yours. A sale of shares is not covered, because it does not change your employment.
- Temp work (also temping, temp job, labour hire)
-
Temp work, or temping, usually means short assignments placed through a recruitment agency, where the agency is your employer and the business you work at directs your day-to-day work. Employment New Zealand calls this a triangular employment situation. All the usual employment rights apply, and a personal grievance can be raised against the agency, the business, or both.
- Temporary Additional Support (also TAS)
-
Temporary Additional Support is a weekly Work and Income payment for people whose income does not cover their essential living costs, such as rent, health costs or getting to work. You do not have to be on a benefit to get it. It depends on your income and assets and on what you are doing to reduce your costs or increase your income, is paid for up to 13 weeks before you reapply, and is not taxed.
- Time in lieu (also time off in lieu, TOIL, time banking)
-
Paid time off given instead of overtime pay for extra hours you work, by agreement with your employer. No law requires it: whether you get it, and at what rate, depends on your employment agreement. It is different from an alternative holiday, which the law requires when you work a public holiday that would otherwise be a working day for you.
- Total remuneration (also total remuneration package, TRP, total package)
-
A pay offer quoted as one figure that includes your employer's KiwiSaver contribution, and sometimes other costs, instead of adding it on top. It is allowed if you agree to it, but it leaves you less than the same salary plus KiwiSaver, and you must still be paid at least the minimum wage without counting the contribution. Ask what the gross salary is once KiwiSaver is taken out.
- Transition to Work Grant (also TTW grant, transition to work)
-
The Transition to Work Grant is a Work and Income payment, which you do not pay back, towards the costs of finding or starting a job, such as clothes and transport for an interview, tools, moving for work, or living costs until your first pay. It is generally for people looking for work of 30 hours or more a week (20 for sole parents) who are on a benefit, registered as a job seeker, or between jobs.
U
- Union (also trade union, union membership, union fees)
-
A union is an organisation of employees that supports and advocates for them at work, gives members advice, and bargains with employers for collective agreements; only a registered union can negotiate one. Joining is your choice: nobody, including your employer, can pressure you to join, not join or leave a union. Each union sets its own fees, usually deducted from your pay.
- Unjustified disadvantage (also disadvantage grievance, unjustifiably disadvantaged, unfair treatment at work)
-
Unjustified disadvantage is a personal grievance claim that an unjustified action by your employer affected your job, or its conditions, to your disadvantage. Employment New Zealand's examples include an unjustified warning, a demotion to a lower-paid job, an unlawful suspension without pay, and an employer not dealing with bullying you raised. It must usually be raised within 90 days.
- Unjustified dismissal (also unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal, unfairly dismissed)
-
Unjustified dismissal is a personal grievance claim that your employer ended your job without a good reason or without a fair process, judged by what a fair and reasonable employer could have done in all the circumstances. It must usually be raised within 90 days. It is generally not available after a valid 90-day trial period or, since 21 February 2026, if you earn $200,000 or more a year and have not opted back in.
V
- Vocational rehabilitation (also vocational rehab, ACC vocational rehabilitation, vocational independence assessment)
-
Vocational rehabilitation is ACC's help to prepare you for a different job when an injury means you cannot return to your old one. It starts with an occupational assessment of work that suits your skills and a medical assessment of which options you could do for 30 hours a week or more, then an updated recovery plan. If you are later found ready to work 30 hours or more and ACC agrees, weekly compensation stops three months after ACC writes to tell you.
W
- Wage arrears (also unpaid wages, arrears claim, back pay)
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Wage arrears are wages or other money your employer owes you under your employment agreement but has not paid, or has paid at less than the lawful rate. You can recover them through the Employment Relations Authority, or, for minimum wage and holiday pay, with a labour inspector's help, and a claim can generally be brought up to six years after the money was due. It is a separate claim from a personal grievance, which has a 90-day limit.
- Wages (also wage, hourly rate, hourly pay)
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Pay based on the time you work, usually an hourly rate multiplied by the hours in each pay period, so it rises and falls with your hours. Every hour must be paid at least the minimum wage. Tax forms use salary or wages to cover both kinds of employee pay.
- Work obligations (also work-related obligations, job search obligations, benefit obligations)
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Work obligations are what Work and Income asks of most people on Jobseeker Support: be available for and take reasonable steps to get suitable work (generally 30 hours a week or more, or 15 with part-time obligations), attend interviews and appointments, accept suitable offers, take part in activities such as seminars, and report on your job search as often as Work and Income reasonably requires. There is no universal weekly quota, but some people have an employment plan with set activities and due dates.
- Work trial (also pre-employment trial, unpaid work trial, trial shift)
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A work trial, or pre-employment trial, is a short unpaid task during the interview process to test whether you can do the job, such as a barista making two or three coffees. Employment New Zealand says working a whole shift, or even a few hours, would likely be employment, which must be paid. It is different from a 90-day trial period, which starts once you are employed.
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Create your free accountEvery definition was checked against the official source it links, on or after 29 September 2026. The law changes: where a term changes on 6 August 2028, when the Employment Leave Act 2026 replaces the Holidays Act 2003, it is marked. This glossary explains terms in general; for your own situation, Employment New Zealand (0800 20 90 20) or Community Law can help.