Summary of 90 Day Trial Period Legislation - and - Kiwisaver Changes 

90 Day Trial Period 

A personal grievance free period of 90 days for those employees initially hired on a trial period has been passed.  Important aspects of the legislation are: 

• It commences 01 March 2009 and applies to employment agreements entered into on, or after, that date.
• It only applies to employers with less than 20 employees as at the date of entering into the agreement.
• It only applies if the trial period is for 90 days or less.
• It must be agreed with the employee in good faith, written in their employment agreement, and specific issues must be covered.
• A trial period clause can be agreed with employees whose other conditions are set out in a collective employment agreement, provided the trial period clause is not inconsistent with that collective agreement.
• An employee cannot take a claim for unjustified dismissal.  Claims can still be made for other personal grievance grounds, human rights complaints, and health and safety complaints.
  

         

KiwiSaver Changes 

1. Effective from 15 December 2008:

• There is no longer a personal grievance created if an employee is treated differently because they are a member of KiwiSaver, although the general unjustified disadvantage personal grievance provisions remain and are untested in this area.
• The use of total remuneration to include employer contributions has been modified to ensure that there has been a genuine pay increase.  Effectively an employee who agrees to total remuneration approach for KiwiSaver must have had a pay increase at least the equivalent of the employer KiwiSaver contribution.
  

 

2. Effective from 01 April 2009:

• The default employee contribution will be 2%.  It is 4% at present.
• The minimum employer contribution will be 2% as at 01 April 2009, but there is no requirement to increase it further in future years.
• The employer tax credit will not be available.