Employment Law Roadshow Aotearoa 2026

SESSION 1 – 9:10 AM

The Changing Landscape & Essential Updates for Aotearoa in 2026
Presented by BUDDLE FINDLAY

• Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2025
  Understand how the new contractor gateway test, personal grievance reforms, and high-income dismissal thresholds will alter employment relationships.
• Holidays Act Reform
  Get ready for the new hours-based leave system, simplified pay calculations, and clear transition timelines for compliance.
• Pay Transparency and Remuneration Disclosure
  Explore how pay discussion rights and reporting obligations will reshape pay equity, culture, and employee expectations.
• Health and Safety Reform Programme 2026
  Learn what the upcoming phase of HSWA amendments means for directors’ duties, psychosocial risk, and wellbeing compliance.
• Privacy and AI in the Workplace
  See how emerging regulation affects data use, employee monitoring, and AI-assisted decision-making in HR.
• Recent Case Law and Enforcement Trends
  Review recent Employment Court rulings and compliance investigations shaping employer practice across Aotearoa.

SESSION 2 – 10:10 AM

The New Holidays Act: Getting Ready for the 2026 Rollout
Presented by MinterEllison RuddWatts

After years of complexity and payroll errors, the new Holidays Act promises clarity — but it also demands major system and policy change. This session explains what’s changing and how to ensure your organisation is compliant by 2026.

• Hours-Based Leave Accrual
  Understand how leave will accrue and be paid under the new hourly model for all employees.
• Simplified Pay Calculations
  Learn how the single pay-rate method will affect payroll and workforce planning.
• Managing Leave for Variable Workers
  Discover how to handle irregular hours, part-time work, and shift patterns under the new rules.
• Transition and Implementation Timeline
  Plan for a 24-month lead-in period, including systems, contracts, and training updates.
• Compliance and Risk Management
  Identify how to audit current payroll systems and prevent costly non-compliance once the new Act takes effect.

11:10 AM: Morning Tea & Networking

SESSION 3 – 11:35 AM

Pay Transparency and Remuneration Fairness
Presented by Russell McVeagh

Pay transparency is now law, and employers must adapt to a new era of openness around remuneration. This session explores how to balance compliance, equity, and culture in your pay practices.

• Understanding the New Pay Disclosure Law
  Learn how the new framework affects employees’ rights to discuss and compare pay.
• Gender and Ethnic Pay Gap Reporting
  Gain insight into the growing trend of voluntary and mandatory reporting and how to prepare your data.
• Creating Transparent Pay Structures
  Explore approaches to remuneration bands, job levelling, and communication strategies.
• Handling Disputes and Comparisons
  Manage challenges that arise when pay discussions highlight inequities within teams.
• Cultural and Organisational Impacts
  Hear how transparency can influence engagement, trust, and retention across your workforce.

SESSION 4 – 12:35 PM

Mental Health, Psychosocial Safety, and Employer Liability
Presented by Simpson Grierson

Mental health and psychosocial safety are now core to legal compliance. This session examines the growing expectations on employers to identify, manage, and mitigate psychological risks at work.

• Psychosocial Risk Framework
  Understand how WorkSafe and MBIE define mental health hazards and what that means in practice.
• Employer Duties Under the HSWA
  Learn what constitutes “reasonably practicable” steps to manage mental health risk.
• Preventing Bullying, Harassment, and Stress Claims
  Build proactive systems for early intervention and complaint management.
• Creating a Psychologically Safe Culture
  Explore leadership behaviours and communication strategies that foster trust and wellbeing.
• Recent Case Law and Enforcement Action
  Review lessons from Whakaari / White Island prosecutions and new psychosocial safety decisions.

SESSION 5 – 2:20 PM

Workplace Investigations and Misconduct: Getting Process Right
Presented by Dentons Kensington Swan

Poor investigations are one of the biggest sources of legal risk for employers. This practical session explains how to conduct investigations that stand up to legal scrutiny.

• Setting Up an Investigation Properly
  Learn how to define scope, appoint investigators, and manage confidentiality.
• Procedural Fairness and Natural Justice
  Ensure fairness for both complainants and respondents throughout the process.
• Evidence Gathering and Documentation
  Understand how to collect, record, and handle information to protect integrity and privacy.
• Managing Bias and Conflicts of Interest
  Identify and mitigate unconscious bias in workplace investigations.
• Drafting Findings and Outcomes
  Know how to prepare legally defensible reports and communicate results effectively.

SESSION 6 – 3:20 PM

Managing Restructures, Redundancies, and High-Risk Terminations
Presented by Bell Gully

With cost pressures and workforce changes accelerating, employers need to manage restructures and terminations carefully to stay compliant and fair.

• Restructure and Redundancy Process
  Understand consultation requirements, redeployment obligations, and notice periods.
• High-Income Threshold for Dismissals
  Learn how the new threshold changes access to personal grievance claims.
• Performance and Conduct Terminations
  Manage difficult exits while minimising procedural risk.
• Settlement Agreements and Mediation
  Use without-prejudice discussions effectively to achieve fair outcomes.
• Reputation and Morale Management
  Handle communication and transition planning to protect culture and brand.

4:20 PM: AFTERNOON TEA

SESSION 7 – 4:30 PM

Technology, AI, and Employee Privacy in the Modern Workplace
Presented by Chapman Tripp

As workplaces embrace automation and digital monitoring, employers face new privacy, ethics, and compliance challenges. This session examines the intersection of law, technology, and human behaviour.

• Employee Data and Privacy Law Obligations
  Understand employer responsibilities under the Privacy Act and guidance from the Privacy Commissioner.
• Use of AI in Recruitment and HR Decisions
  Explore emerging risks around bias, transparency, and fairness in algorithmic decision-making.
• Workplace Surveillance and Remote Monitoring
  Learn what is lawful when tracking productivity, communications, or online behaviour.
• Cross-Border Data Transfers
  Manage data securely across jurisdictions and cloud systems.
• Ethical and Cultural Considerations
  Discuss how technology can support, rather than undermine, trust and transparency at work.

5:30 PM: CONFERENCE CLOSE

WORKSHOP A — 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Auckland: 13th April | Wellington: 15th April

MASTERING WORKPLACE INVESTIGATIONS AND DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Handling workplace investigations the wrong way is one of the fastest routes to a personal grievance or reputational damage. With new legal expectations for fairness, privacy, and procedural integrity, HR leaders need to be confident that every step — from receiving a complaint to communicating findings — can withstand scrutiny.

This interactive masterclass walks you through each stage of the investigation process, combining legal insight with practical examples and guided exercises. You’ll leave with the tools, templates, and confidence to conduct investigations that are defensible, transparent, and compliant with both the Employment Relations Act and natural justice principles.

Key Learning Outcomes

✔ Build a legally sound investigation framework
Learn how to establish scope, appoint investigators, and maintain confidentiality.

✔ Apply procedural fairness and natural justice
Understand employee rights and ensure balance for all parties involved.

✔ Gather and evaluate evidence effectively
Improve your questioning techniques, record-keeping, and documentation.

✔ Identify and manage bias or conflict of interest
Explore strategies to protect integrity and objectivity throughout the process.

✔ Draft and communicate findings with confidence
Write defensible reports and deliver outcomes that meet legal and organisational standards.

✔ Participate in a live investigation simulation
Test your skills through a guided case study with expert feedback.

WORKSHOP B — 1:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Auckland: 13th April | Wellington: 15th April

RESTRUCTURING, REDUNDANCY, AND THE END OF EMPLOYMENT

Overview

As economic pressures and organisational change continue across New Zealand, restructures and redundancies have become some of the most sensitive and legally complex areas of HR practice. Missteps in consultation, selection, or communication can lead to costly disputes, poor morale, and lasting reputational harm.

This half-day workshop equips leaders and HR professionals with the legal understanding and practical frameworks to manage workforce change lawfully and ethically. Through real-world case studies and guided exercises, participants will learn how to plan, consult, and communicate every stage of the process while maintaining fairness and compassion.

Key Learning Outcomes

✔ Understand legal obligations and tests for redundancy
Learn how to meet procedural and substantive justification requirements under the Act.

✔ Plan and communicate the restructure process
Develop clear, defensible consultation timelines and communication strategies.

✔ Handle complex or multi-site restructures
Explore practical solutions for unionised, remote, or executive-level scenarios.

✔ Manage redeployment and selection decisions
Apply fair and transparent criteria to minimise risk and maintain trust.

✔ Negotiate settlements and exit agreements
Strengthen your skills in without-prejudice discussions and mediated resolutions.

✔ Apply learning through a practical simulation
Work through a full restructure scenario from business case to implementation.