We provide a full range of workplace representation, employment law and bargaining services, including reviewing and vetting employment agreements and other contracts, negotiating agreements and representing members with all types of workplace issues.
This includes representation for workplace, disciplinary processes and employment problems including disciplinary interviews, negotiated settlements, restructures and redundancies, plus personal grievance matters. We are highly skilled at solving problems informally, without being unduly adversarial, and where possible at the operational level.
Management of workplace disciplinary processes sometimes overlaps with professional disciplinary, regulatory and medico-legal matters.
Members seeking assistance and representation for workplace disciplinary and employment law matters must contact us as soon as the matter arises and/or without undue delay. Some conditions apply in relation to this.
Types of Employment Agreements
We handle both individual and collective employment agreements. Some of our workplace representation is undertaken through our principal industrial arm Te Uniana o NSNZ - the Union of the Nurses Society of New Zealand. Te Uniana o NSNZ is a registered union. It is part of the Society and an application for membership of the Society serves as an application for membership of Te Uniana o NSNZ. No extra fees (direct or indirect) apply.
Many of our members are on collective agreements (CAs) negotiated by us. Indeed, we have a growing number of CAs with organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand. We have our own CA with Te Whatu Ora I Health New Zealand.
However, some of our members are working for organisations with CAs by other unions. A CA only applies to employees who hold membership with the union or unions party to the CA. In such circumstances employees who are not members of the union party to the CA are employed on IEAs rather than the CA. The terms and conditions in an IEA are usually derived from the relevant CEA.
The terms and conditions contained in a CA by union can generally be offered to employees on an IEA, although not automatically. If the employer wants to offer the same conditions to an employee on an IEA, they need to make an offer to the employee. This is typically done by an email to the employee.
Primary Care
Over a third of all primary care and urgent care nurses hold membership with us. That sector has a multi-employer collective agreement (MECA). Except where we have our own CA with a specific employer or group in that sector, most of our members in primary care are on IEAs based on the Primary Healthcare MECA.
Pay Equity Claims and Settlements
Pay equity (PE) claims are covered by special legislation and have their own rules. The only PE claim for nursing staff settled so far was with the former DHBs (now Te Whatu Ora I Health New Zealand. That pay equity claim has now been settled and all Te Whatu Ora I Health New Zealand employees were eligible for the pay increases and the related lump sums.
By law any pay equity settlement applies to all employees in the sector. In short all pay equity claims apply to all employees in their respective sector regardless of union membership.
Pay Disparity Funding
In 2020 and 2023 the previous government provided pay disparity funding across a wide range of NGO and private health providers. This funding was designed to allow those employers to boost pay rates to at least 95% of the 2020 Te Whatu Ora I Health New Zealand rates. This funding and increases also applied to all nursing staff regardless of union membership or type of employment agreement.