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90-Day Trial Periods in New Zealand

Every New Zealand employer, whatever its size, can use a 90-day trial period for a new employee — but the protections around trials are strict, and invalid clauses are everywhere. The agreement must be signed before you start work, you must be genuinely new to that employer, and even a valid trial only blocks a grievance for the dismissal itself. Call 0800 461 100 free, any hour — dismissed "under trial" is exactly the situation worth a five-minute check.

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90-Day Trial Periods at a glance

Who can use them

All employers, for employees who have not previously worked for them — agreed in writing as part of the employment agreement

The timing rule that kills most clauses

The agreement containing the trial must be signed BEFORE you start work — sign on day one after starting, and the clause is generally invalid

What a valid trial blocks

A personal grievance for unjustified DISMISSAL only — nothing else

What it never blocks

Grievances for discrimination, harassment, unjustified disadvantage during employment, and claims for unpaid wages or entitlements

Notice still applies

Dismissal under a trial still requires proper notice under the agreement — a botched notice can unravel the trial's protection

What makes a trial clause valid

The checklist is short and unforgiving: the trial must be in writing, in the employment agreement, for a stated period of up to 90 days starting at the beginning of employment; you must be a genuinely new employee (never previously employed by that employer — even years ago, even casually); and the agreement must be signed before you start work. Courts have repeatedly held that an employee who starts first and signs later was already employed when they signed — which defeats the clause.

Employers also owe good faith in how the trial is used: the dismissal must be communicated within the period with proper notice as the agreement requires. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

What a valid trial actually blocks — and what survives

A valid trial period blocks one thing: a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal in respect of the trial dismissal. Everything else survives — grievances for discrimination or harassment, for unjustified disadvantage during the employment (bullying, unlawful deductions, unsafe treatment), whistleblower protections, and every claim to be paid correctly: wages, holiday pay, final pay.

An employer who thinks "90-day trial" means "no rules for 90 days" is wrong in every direction that matters — and that misunderstanding produces winnable claims. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

When the clause fails, everything comes back

If the trial clause is invalid — signed late, previously employed, defective wording, notice botched — the dismissal is tested like any other: a fair reason and a fair process, under s 103A. Trial dismissals almost never come with either (the employer believed no process was needed), so an invalid clause typically converts directly into a strong unjustified-dismissal grievance with the usual remedies: lost wages, humiliation compensation, potentially reinstatement.

This is why the five-minute validity check matters: the difference between "no claim" and "strong claim" is usually a date on a signature page. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

If you have just been dismissed under a trial

Get the documents together — the employment agreement (check the date you signed against your first day), the offer emails, the dismissal communication — and check three things: was the clause valid, was notice given properly, and did anything about the treatment fall outside the dismissal itself (discrimination, harassment, unpaid entitlements). Then remember the standard clock: 90 days to raise whatever grievance survives. The free line can walk the checklist with you tonight. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Checking a trial-period dismissal, step by step

Pull the paperworkYour signed agreement (and the date you signed it), your first day of work, any earlier stints with the same employer, and the dismissal message.

Run the validity checklistSigned before starting? Genuinely new employee? Clause properly worded? Notice given as the agreement requires? One failure and full dismissal rights return.

Raise what survives, in timeCall 0800 461 100 free, any hour, for the five-minute check — and book a NZ$295 (GST inclusive) consultation with a New Zealand employment lawyer on the call if the clause looks shaky.

90-Day Trial Periods — your questions answered

I signed my agreement on my first morning at work. Is the trial valid?

Very possibly not. The courts treat someone who has already started work as an existing employee — and trial periods are only available to genuinely new employees who agreed before starting. If you signed after starting, the clause is likely invalid and you likely have full unjustified-dismissal rights.

I worked for this company two years ago. Can they put me on a trial now?

No — trials are only for employees who have never previously been employed by that employer. Prior employment, even brief or casual, generally defeats a trial clause.

Can they dismiss me under a trial with no reason at all?

Under a valid trial, the employer does not have to justify the dismissal in the usual way, and you cannot bring an unjustified-dismissal grievance about it. But they must give proper notice, act in good faith, and the trial blocks nothing else — discrimination, harassment and unpaid-entitlement claims all survive.

They told me on day 89 but my last day is after the 90 days. Does the trial still apply?

What generally matters is that notice of dismissal is given within the trial period, with the notice the agreement requires. Get the exact dates and the agreement checked — trial dismissals fail on timing details more often than employers expect.

Is a "probation period" the same thing?

No. A probationary period is a different creature: it does NOT block grievances — it just signals performance will be assessed, and a dismissal at the end of probation needs the ordinary fair reason and process. Employers who confuse the two hand employees a grievance.