Maybe you were let go without a fair process. Maybe your final pay never came right, your holiday pay looks wrong, or you were punished for raising a concern. New Zealand gives every employee real protection — under the Employment Relations Act 2000 a dismissal has to be something a fair and reasonable employer could have done, and most unfair treatment can become a 'personal grievance'. But there is a hard deadline: you generally have just 90 days to raise a personal grievance with your employer. You don't need money or a web form to find out where you stand. This is general legal information about your rights in Otago and across New Zealand — not legal advice, and it creates no lawyer-client relationship. Legal Hotline is not a law firm.
Free legal information. Not legal advice. Available 24/7 across Otago.
Write down the dates and the dollars before you cool off. Note your last day worked, the exact day anything happened to you (dismissal, a warning, a demotion, a pay cut), and roughly what you think you're owed — unpaid wages, holiday pay under the Holidays Act 2003, or your final pay. One clock is already running: a personal grievance must usually be raised with your employer within 90 days of the problem happening or coming to your notice (it's 12 months for sexual harassment). Save your employment agreement, payslips, rosters, emails and texts to your personal phone or email now, before you lose access to a work account. The free first step in New Zealand is MBIE mediation — it costs nothing. Know your deadline first, then act.
Here's what catches Otago workers out. You can have a strong story — dismissed without a fair process, or punished for speaking up — and still lose the right to do anything about it, because a personal grievance must usually be raised with your employer within 90 days of the problem happening or coming to your notice. That is far shorter than the three years you then have to take a raised grievance to the Employment Relations Authority, and people wrongly assume the long window is the only one that counts. The 90-day clock starts the day the thing happened (or the day you found out), not the day you decided it was unfair. After 90 days you usually need either the employer's agreement or the Authority to accept 'exceptional circumstances' — and that bar is high. Sexual-harassment grievances get a longer 12-month window, but everything else runs on the 90 days. If something has gone wrong at work, don't sit on it — find out exactly how many days you have left.
If you'd rather start on your own, or you need free help in Otago, these are real, verified New Zealand resources — several built specifically for workers. Here they are directly:
I was dismissed without any real process. Is that legal in New Zealand?
Probably not. New Zealand has no 'at-will' employment — under section 103A of the Employment Relations Act 2000, a dismissal is only justified if it's what a fair and reasonable employer could have done, which means both a genuine reason AND a fair process (investigating properly, raising concerns, and letting you respond). If your employer skipped that, you may have an unjustified-dismissal personal grievance. But you generally have to raise it within 90 days, so don't wait — find out where you stand and how long you have.
Isn't my job 'at-will' — can't they fire me for any reason?
No. 'At-will' employment is a United States idea and it does not exist in New Zealand. Here, an employer needs a good reason and a fair process before dismissing you (section 103A). A dismissal that fails that test can be challenged as an unjustified dismissal. The catch is the deadline: you usually have just 90 days to raise a personal grievance. To find out whether your dismissal was justified, get free, plain-English information about your situation first.
How long do I have to raise a personal grievance in Otago?
The same nationwide rule applies in Otago: you must raise a personal grievance with your employer within 90 days of the problem happening or coming to your notice, whichever is later. Sexual-harassment grievances have a longer 12-month window. After you've raised it, you then have up to three years to take it to the Employment Relations Authority — but that longer window only opens once you've raised it in time. Miss the 90 days and you usually need the employer's consent or 'exceptional circumstances'. Check your dates early.
What's the first step if I have a problem with my employer?
In New Zealand the first step is usually free mediation through MBIE's Employment Mediation Service — an impartial mediator helps you and your employer try to reach a settlement, and it costs nothing. If mediation doesn't resolve things, the matter can go to the Employment Relations Authority, which investigates and makes a binding decision. You don't need a lawyer to start. Getting clear on your rights and your 90-day deadline first makes that first step much more effective.
My holiday pay or final pay looks wrong. Can I do anything?
Yes. The Holidays Act 2003 governs annual holidays, public holidays, sick and bereavement leave and how holiday pay is calculated — and it's one of the most common things employers get wrong. Unpaid wages and holiday-pay shortfalls can be claimed, and the Labour Inspectorate can step in for clear breaches of minimum standards. Keep your payslips and employment agreement. Free information can help you work out whether your pay has actually been short.
What is the minimum wage in New Zealand right now?
The adult minimum wage is $23.50 an hour, rising to $23.95 from 1 April 2026, with a lower starting-out and training rate (set at 80% of the adult rate). Being paid under the minimum wage is unlawful. If you think you've been underpaid, that can be recovered, and the Labour Inspectorate enforces minimum standards. Get free information about how to raise it.
What can I actually get if my grievance succeeds?
Under section 123 of the Employment Relations Act 2000, remedies can include reimbursement of the wages you lost, reinstatement to your job where that's practicable, and compensation for the hurt and humiliation the unfair treatment caused. The mix depends on your situation — how long you were out of work and how serious the impact was. Nothing is guaranteed, but these are the real outcomes the Authority can order. Free information can help you understand what your situation might be worth.
I felt forced to resign because of how I was treated. Is that a dismissal?
It can be. If your employer's conduct effectively forced you out, that may be a 'constructive dismissal' — treated as an unjustified dismissal even though you technically resigned. But how and when you leave matters a lot, and a hasty resignation can weaken your position, so it's worth getting information before you act. The same 90-day personal-grievance deadline applies. Find out where you stand first.
Do I need a lawyer or money to start an employment claim in New Zealand?
No. The first step — MBIE mediation — is free and designed to work without a lawyer, and the Employment Relations Authority is an accessible, investigative process rather than a formal courtroom. Free help is also available in Otago through Community Law Otago and the Citizens Advice Bureau, and legal aid may cover some matters if you meet the means test. Getting free information about your rights and deadline costs nothing either.
Where in Otago do I go for free in-person help?
Community Law Otago provides free legal advice and information to Otago residents, including employment problems. It's based at Floor 1, 169 Princes Street, Dunedin, with phone (03) 474 1922 and freephone 0800 169 333, plus outreach across North, Central and South Otago. The Citizens Advice Bureau and the Dunedin (Ōtepoti) District Court are also local. For free information first, start with the resources on this page.
Is this legal advice, and do you represent me?
No. Legal Hotline is not a law firm, and what you get here is general legal information about your rights in Otago and across New Zealand — not legal advice — and it creates no lawyer-client relationship. What it does is help you understand your situation, flag the deadline that matters (the 90-day personal-grievance clock), and point you toward free help like MBIE mediation, the Employment Relations Authority, and Community Law Otago, or to an employment lawyer if you want one.
Are you a New Zealand-qualified employment lawyer or advocate working in Otago? We connect worried, time-pressured workers — facing unjustified dismissal, unpaid wages and holiday-pay problems, disadvantage, harassment and restructuring issues — with people who can help. If you'd like to receive referrals as our network grows, get in touch about joining. (This is a path for lawyers; workers should simply use the free resources above.)
General legal information, not legal advice. We research every page from primary sources — legislation, the courts, and government legal-aid bodies — and check it for accuracy. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at admin@platfirm.ai.
Whatever happened at your job in Otago — dismissed without a fair process, underpaid, denied your holiday pay, or punished for speaking up — New Zealand employment law may be squarely on your side, but only if you act before the clock runs out, and a personal grievance usually has just a 90-day fuse. You don't need money, an email address, or a lawyer to find out where you stand. This page gives you general legal information to help you move fast — not legal advice, and it creates no lawyer-client relationship. Legal Hotline is not a law firm. Check your deadline and take the right next step before another day comes off the clock.
Free legal information. Not legal advice.