Personal Grievances in New Zealand: The Time Limits, Mediation, and Remedies

A personal grievance is the formal complaint an employee can bring under New Zealand employment law, most commonly for unjustified dismissal or unjustified disadvantage, but also for discrimination and harassment. It must usually be raised with the employer within 90 days, or 12 months for sexual harassment.

This is general information about New Zealand employment law, not legal advice. For your own situation, consult a lawyer or your local Community Law centre.

What counts as a personal grievance

The most common personal grievances are for unjustified dismissal (the employee's job ends without a fair process or fair reason) and unjustified disadvantage (the employee is treated unfairly in their job in some other way, short of losing it). Personal grievances also cover discrimination on a prohibited ground, sexual harassment, racial harassment, and duress connected to union membership or non-membership, along with several narrower statutory grounds, such as unfair treatment for lawfully refusing unsafe work or for a protected disclosure.

The 90-day window to raise it, and the 12-month exception for sexual harassment

A personal grievance must generally be raised with the employer within 90 days of the problem arising, or of the employee becoming aware of it, whichever is later. For a grievance based on sexual harassment, the window is 12 months instead of 90 days, a change that applies where the harassment happened, or came to the employee's notice, on or after 13 June 2023. That longer period continues to apply even if the employee has since left the job.

Missing the deadline does not automatically end the claim, but it does make it harder. Raising a grievance late is only possible with the employer's agreement, or if the Employment Relations Authority decides to allow it because of exceptional circumstances, such as the employee being seriously unwell, being badly represented, or not being told the real reason for a dismissal.

Mediation: the practical first step

Once a grievance is raised, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) offers a free, nationwide mediation service to help the employer and employee try to resolve it without going further. Mediation is not an absolute legal precondition to bringing a claim to the Employment Relations Authority, but it is the normal next step in practice. If the Authority receives an application that has not yet been to mediation, it will usually refer the matter to mediation first before it investigates.

The Employment Relations Authority and the 3-year deadline

If mediation does not resolve the grievance, either party can take it to the Employment Relations Authority. A personal grievance claim generally must be lodged with the Authority within 3 years of the date it was first raised with the employer, and the Authority cannot investigate a claim brought after that window closes.

Remedies if a grievance succeeds

Where a personal grievance is upheld, the remedies available under the Employment Relations Act 2000 can include reinstatement to the employee's former position, reimbursement of wages or other money lost because of the grievance, and compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity, or injury to feelings. The Authority or Employment Court can also recommend other actions to the employer. These outcomes are not automatic, and remedies can be reduced, or withheld entirely for serious misconduct, if the employee's own actions contributed to what happened.

Related employment topics

For how a claim is actually lodged and heard, see the Employment Relations Authority. For the wider picture of employment law in New Zealand, see the employment law hub.