Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill
This bill would give workers the legal right to talk about their pay with anyone they choose — workmates, friends, or family — without being punished by their employer for doing so. Right now, some employment contracts ban workers from sharing what they earn, and breaking that rule can lead to being fired or disciplined. Under this bill, if an employer punishes a worker for discussing their own pay, that worker could make a formal complaint (called a personal grievance) against the employer. The bill does not force anyone to share their pay — it just protects those who choose to.
What this affects
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Workers would be legally protected if they choose to talk about how much they earn, so unfair pay differences become easier to spot.
an employer engages in adverse conduct for a remuneration disclosure reason if the employer or a representative of the employer, for a remuneration disclosure reason, dismisses an employee
This section does not require an employee to discuss their remuneration with, or disclose their remuneration to, any other person.
remuneration includes… salary or wages (including payment for overtime and penal rates); allowances; productivity-based, bonus, or incentive payments (including commission); any employer contribution to a superannuation scheme
Progress through Parliament
Have your say
This bill is open for public submissions to the Education and Workforce Committee. Anyone can tell the committee what they think, and you don’t need to be an expert. Submissions close 12 November 2024.
Bill text sourced from legislation.govt.nz (Parliamentary Counsel Office). Arapono’s summary and breakdown are drafted with AI grounded in that official text and reviewed by an Arapono editor for accuracy and neutrality before publishing. Arapono is non-partisan and takes no position on this bill.