90-day trials and your first six months
The first year in a new job has three dates that matter in law: the end of any trial period, six months, and twelve months. Each one changes what you are entitled to. Here is what the law gives you at each, as it stands today, with a link to Employment New Zealand beside every rule.
Is your trial period valid?
A trial period lets an employer see whether a new employee suits the job, and dismiss them during it without the usual process. Because it takes away protection you would otherwise have, the rules on when one counts are strict (Employment New Zealand: trial periods):
- It lasts no longer than 90 calendar days, and starts at the very start of your employment.
- You have not worked for that employer before.
- It is in your employment agreement, which must say you are on a trial period from the start, how long it lasts, that you can be dismissed during it, and that you cannot raise a personal grievance about that dismissal except in some circumstances.
- You signed the agreement before you started work. If you did not, the trial period is not valid.
Two more rules. Immigration New Zealand does not allow trial periods for migrant workers employed on an Accredited Employer Work Visa. And if a collective agreement covers you and says you cannot be employed on a trial period, your individual terms cannot include one.
During the trial: what stays the same
Almost everything. You must be paid during a trial period, and you have the same rights as an employee who is not on one and must be treated the same way. The one exception is dismissal: if your employer dismisses you during a valid trial, it does not have to follow all the usual rules.
You can still raise a personal grievance for any other reason, such as discrimination or harassment (Employment New Zealand: personal grievances). A trial period is about whether the job continues, not about how you are treated while you do it.
If your employer ends it
If your employer decides you are not suited to the role, it can give you notice during the trial period. It does not have to follow a fair process, have a good reason, or give you a written reason if you ask for one. It must still:
- Give you notice during the trial period: the notice in your agreement, or reasonable notice if the agreement does not say, unless it is dismissing you for serious misconduct. Your last day can fall after the trial ends, as long as notice was given within it.
- Either let you work out your notice, or put you on paid leave in lieu of notice.
- Act in good faith: not mislead or deceive you, and be responsive and communicative.
After a valid trial you cannot usually raise a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal. You can if your employer did not give you the notice in your agreement (or reasonable notice), if you started work before the agreement was signed, if you were not given a reasonable chance to get independent advice on it before you signed, or if the agreement does not mention a trial period. A personal grievance generally has to be raised within 90 days.
Trial or probationary period?
They sound alike and work differently. A probationary period can be any reasonable length, and can apply even if you have worked for the employer before. To dismiss you during or at the end of one, your employer must assess you fairly, tell you why your performance is not good enough, warn you that your job may end, and give you a chance to respond and improve, and then follow all the other dismissal rules (Employment New Zealand: probationary periods). Check which one your agreement says.
At six months
Six months with the same employer is when three kinds of paid leave begin. You qualify with six months' current continuous employment, or, if your hours are irregular, when you have worked for the employer for six months for an average of 10 hours a week, with at least 1 hour in every week or 40 hours in every month.
- Sick leave: 10 days' paid sick leave a year, for yourself or to care for your partner, children or other dependants, whether you are full-time, part-time or casual. Unused days carry over, up to 20 days in total, but unused sick leave is never paid out when you leave. If you are sick for 3 or more calendar days in a row, your employer can ask for proof on or after the third day and you pay for it; if it asks sooner, it must repay your costs. (Employment New Zealand: taking sick leave)
- Bereavement leave: at least 3 days' paid leave when an immediate family member dies (for example a parent, child, partner or spouse, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister or parent-in-law), or for a miscarriage or stillbirth, and at least 1 day when someone else dies and your employer accepts you have had a bereavement. It does not have to be taken straight away or on consecutive days. (Employment New Zealand: taking bereavement leave)
- Family violence leave: up to 10 days' paid leave a year if you, or a child who lives with you, are affected by family violence. It does not carry over and is not paid out when you leave. You can also ask, in writing, for short-term flexible working for up to 2 months. (Employment New Zealand: taking family violence leave)
Six months is also the first threshold for parental leave: if you have worked for the employer for an average of at least 10 hours a week in the six months before a baby's due date, you can take up to 26 weeks' primary carer leave. Leave entitlements in New Zealand has the detail.
At twelve months
After each 12 months of continuous employment, you are entitled to at least four weeks' paid annual holidays (Employment New Zealand: taking annual holidays). Under New Zealand law annual holidays do not build up day by day, even if your payslip shows "accrued leave". Before twelve months, you can take holidays in advance only if your employer agrees.
If you leave before twelve months, the time still counts. Your final pay must include 8% of your gross earnings since you started, less anything already paid for holidays taken in advance or paid as you go (Employment New Zealand: final pay).
Twelve months also lifts parental leave to up to 52 weeks, and unpaid partner's leave from 1 week to 2, if you have averaged at least 10 hours a week. And it is a natural moment to look at your pay: see Asking for a pay rise in New Zealand.
The law is changing in 2028
The Employment Leave Act 2026 passed into law on 6 August 2026. It replaces the Holidays Act 2003 on 6 August 2028, and changes how annual leave, sick leave, family violence leave, bereavement leave, public holidays and alternative leave are earned, taken and paid (Employment New Zealand: Employment Leave Act 2026). Until then the current rules apply, and an employer cannot start following the new ones early, even if you both agree (Employment New Zealand: how employees can get ready). Everything on this page describes the law as it stands today.
The dates to put in your calendar
- The day you signed your agreement, and the day you started work.
- The last day of any trial period: no more than 90 calendar days from your start.
- Six months: sick, bereavement and family violence leave begin.
- Twelve months: four weeks' paid annual holidays, and again at each anniversary.
- Your first pay review, if your agreement or workplace has one. Start preparing six weeks before it.
Every date that matters in your job
Your Career works out the end of your trial period, six months, a year, your review and each anniversary from your start date, with what the law gives you at each and a link to Employment New Zealand. Nothing in it is ever shown to an employer. Part of On the Move, or $4.99 a month on its own with the Career plan, with a 7-day free trial.
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