Specialist employment law firm Edwards Sluiters says it is seeing a growing number of employees using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to draft workplace correspondence during disputes.

William Buckley, employment lawyer at Edwards Sluiters, says AI is increasingly being used to prepare emails to managers, letters raising concerns, and responses during disciplinary processes. In some cases, AI-generated material has also appeared in Statements of Problem filed with the Employment Relations Authority.

“AI can help people organise their thoughts and communicate workplace concerns more clearly,” Buckley said. “However, it also makes it easy to produce lengthy and technical correspondence that can escalate issues before a conversation has even taken place.”

Buckley says another concern is the accuracy of AI-generated legal content.

“We have seen AI-generated correspondence that misstates legal tests, incorrectly summarises court decisions, or even cites cases that do not exist.”

The issue is emerging more broadly across the legal system. In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of New Zealand criticised an applicant who submitted AI-generated material containing fabricated case citations.

Buckley says while AI can assist with drafting documents, it should not replace proper legal advice.

“AI can be a useful tool, but employers and employees still need to understand their legal obligations and seek professional advice when disputes escalate.”
 

About William Buckley 

William is an associate employment lawyer with Edwards Sluiters - a specialist employment law firm advising employers and employees across New Zealand. The firm provides legal advice on workplace disputes, disciplinary processes, restructures, and personal grievance claims.
More information: https://employmentlawyers.co.nz/

The Employment Relations Amendment Bill will help restore balance, certainty and common sense to New Zealand's employment framework, BusinessNZ says.

Director of Advocacy Catherine Beard says the Bill, which passed its third reading last night, addresses real-world issues facing employers and workers, and supports a more flexible and confident economy.

"Clear and workable employment settings are essential to business confidence and job growth. The amendments address areas of employment law which have been caught up in recent debate - including the status of contractors in platform-based work arrangements.

"For example, recent court cases have found that four Uber drivers are in-fact full time employees - due to their individual circumstances. The issue is platform work opportunities like the ones we have now wouldn't have come about if the platform operators were made to shoulder all the costs and commitments associated with full time employment.

"If we want to keep new enterprise and the ensuing benefits consumers enjoy, we must make sure the model can continue to work. We hope the Government has done enough with this legislation to make it clear to the courts and potential claimants that they can't keep trying to break the model.

The Bill also amends situations where workers dismissed for serious misconduct have up until now been able to receive financial compensation through the personal grievance process.

"Most New Zealanders understand that serious wrongdoing at work comes with consequences. Removing automatic financial rewards, for instance by penalising the employer for small procedural errors, restores fairness and reinforces accountability.

"Overall, The Bill moves employment law closer to the realities of modern work, while maintaining core protections. This is something BusinessNZ has been advocating for, for a long time. These changes will reduce administrative requirements and provide greater flexibility for employers and employees when agreeing employment terms.

Workers First said that the passage of the Employment Relations Amendment Bill today was the "darkest day in decades" for New Zealand workers' rights and that every person, whether an employee or contractor, should be deeply concerned for their future job security and prosperity.

Dennis Maga, Workers First General Secretary, said that while it was obvious that the governing ACT Party and National Party intended to change New Zealand law to protect the "exploitative" business model of employers like Uber, NZ First had "sold out" workers despite meeting with several unions over the last few months and claiming their intention to amend the Bill during its Committee Stage. Instead, NZ First offered no amendments during the final Parliamentary opportunity to develop the legislation and rejected every Opposition attempt to limit the Bill's "catastrophic" scope.

"This 'fire-at-will' Bill not only protects contractor misclassification by enshrining the process in law, but it decimates the right to workplace justice and enables employers to erase the rights workers fought for decades to win," said Mr Maga.

"This is a shameful day for Aotearoa and an international embarrassment. While other nations stood up to international corporates like Uber and required them to adapt to sovereign law, our Government has laid out the red carpet for them to redesign our employment system in their favour."

"It's no surprise to see the ACT Party advance legislation as the parliamentary wing of Uber's business model, but NZ First's decision to back the Bill is a stark act of hypocrisy."

"They are a party that pretends to care about sovereignty but have turned their backs on New Zealanders today, and workers will not forget it."

Mr Maga said that the passage of the Bill did not rule out the pursuit of backpay and lost entitlements for the misclassification of Uber drivers, which last year's judgement from the Supreme Court allowed for. Over 1,500 financial claims for Uber drivers have already been lodged by Workers First Union, and they would proceed despite the law change.

Other elements of the Bill that disadvantage workers included the end of the "30-day rule" that protected new employees under an existing Collective Agreement, and changes to the Personal Grievance process that allowed employers to unilaterally define "serious misconduct" and deny workers the right to compensation or reinstatement if they are deemed to have "contributed" to the situation.

"The Bill is an omnibus of gifts to exploitative employers and a firm admission that this Government does not care about ordinary New Zealand workers," said Mr Maga.

"It will worsen the cost-of-living crisis, exacerbate the exodus of New Zealand workers to Australia, and encourage more predation on the working class by big business without redress."

Ultimately, Mr Maga said the legislation created the conditions for New Zealand employers to pursue mass redundancies of employees before attempting to 're-hire' them under the new category of a 'specified contractor', lacking the protections of employment like a minimum wage, holiday pay, sick and annual leave, and the right to join a union.

"If you think this Bill doesn't apply to you now, it may well in the future," said Mr Maga.

Media have reported that FENZ has admitted it used the CCTV cameras to undertake surveillance of striking firefighters, other NZPFU members and public supporters at NZPFU strike events.

This week the Union notified the Privacy Commission of the breaches seeking an urgent investigation as we are concerned FENZ may continue with surveillance of striking NZPFU members.

The NZPFU had received information detailing members of FENZ Executive Leadership asking or directing Auckland Transport CCTV operators to access cameras in Auckland in order to watch NZPFU members at their pickets in Pitt Street, in Karangahape Road and at East Coast Bays. This took place in the FENZ Regional Offices in Pitt Street with a range of other Auckland managers and representatives from other agencies present.

We have also received information that at least one Auckland Senior Manager went to the Auckland Transport Control Centre on another occasion and their presence was explained as being there "to spy on paid firefighters" or words to that effect.

In response to media requests FENZ admitted that it used the CCTV footage to watch our members and supporters at pickets.

The NZPFU has now written to the FENZ Board seeking immediate action for the serious breaches of privacy, unlawful surveillance which also amount to significant breaches of the required good faith in the employment relationship.

FENZ CE Kerry Gregory regularly claims he has zero tolerance for poor behaviour and he must now be held accountable for his involvement in these breaches.

We have notified the FENZ Board that we are in the process of finalising formal complaints to the appropriate Government bodies but were first giving the Board an opportunity to hold the most senior management of FENZ to account.

The NZPFU has received information detailing FENZ senior management misusing Auckland Transport CCTV to undertake surveillance of striking NZPFU members and their supporters, including members of the public.

The NZPFU has received information detailing members of FENZ Executive Leadership asking or directing Auckland Transport CCTV operators to access cameras in Auckland in order to watch NZPFU members at their pickets in Pitt Street, in Karangahape Road and at East Coast Bays. This took place in the FENZ Regional Offices in Pitt Street with a range of other Auckland managers and representatives from other agencies present.

We have also received information that at least one Auckland Senior Manager went to the Auckland Transport Control Centre on another occasion and their presence was explained as being there "to spy on paid firefighters" or words to that effect.

We assume the use of the CCTV cameras was requested to monitor emergency response to incidents during the NZPFU one-hour strikes. CCTV access would be useful to monitor road accidents. But accessing the cameras to watch striking firefighters, other NZPFU striking members and public supporters is a gross breach of privacy. We believe such use would be a breach of CCTV camera access and use agreements and policy.

This focus on striking NZPFU members' activities during the one-hour strikes says it all about FENZ's priorities.

The NZPFU has written to the Privacy Commission notifying of these serious breaches of privacy asking for an investigation to be undertaken with urgency in order to prevent any further similar breaches.

We are deeply concerned unlawful surveillance would continue during any forthcoming strikes. Wellington and Christchurch also have CCTV control centres, so we do not know if similar surveillance has been undertaken during strikes in other locations or on how many occasions.

The NZPFU has also made Official Information requests regarding this matter.

NZ First leader Winston Peters says his party stands for the 'responsible face of capitalism' - now it's time to prove it by voting against the draconian Employment Relations Amendment Bill which represents the most severe attack on workers' rights in a generation.

In an end of year interview in the Post today, Mr Peters said 'We stand for the responsible face of capitalism. We're capitalists, but we believe in the responsible face of capitalism'.

"If Mr Peters truly believes in responsible capitalism, he'll vote against a bill that allows employers to fire workers at will by gutting personal grievance protections," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

"Responsible capitalism means workers have basic protections from unfair treatment. This bill does the opposite - it hands employers a free pass to sack people without consequence.

"Workers have already endured an unprecedented attack on their rights under this Government - pay equity scrapped for 150,000 women, the minimum wage suppressed, Fair Pay Agreements axed and 90-day fire-at-will trials reinstated.

"Enough is enough. If NZ First wants to be the responsible face of anything, it needs to stand up for working New Zealanders and vote this draconian bill down.

"The test of responsible capitalism isn't just words in an interview - it's how you vote when workers' livelihoods are on the line.

"We're calling on Winston Peters to walk the talk and do the right thing. Vote against this bill and show New Zealand that NZ First understands the importance of workers to a thriving economy who should not be easily exploited in the name of capitalism.

"That's the responsible thing to do Mr Peters."

In summary the Employment Relations Amendment Bill:

• Allows employers to fire at will workers who seek redress for unfair treatment and who may have contributed to the situation, however minor.
• Allows employers to fire at will workers who are unjustifiably dismissed and earn more than $200,000 - they cannot access a personal grievance process.
• Removes the provision that automatically enrols new employees in collective agreements for 30 days. This means new workers will risk being exposed to 90-day fire-at-will trials before understanding the protections offered by collective agreements.
• Allows employers to deem workers contractors removing their right to holiday and sick pay and means they can be fired at will - the law change written by multi-national ride share company Uber.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand has commenced legal action in the Employment Relations Authority against the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) and one of its officials, following alleged threats and intimidation of volunteer firefighters in relation to their response to emergency callouts.

The matter has also been referred to the Police.

Concerns have been raised with Fire and Emergency about the behaviour of union officials, which led it to take action to protect its people and the wider public given the seriousness of the alleged conduct. The NZPFU officials concerned are alleged to have threatened and intimidated volunteers to stop them responding to emergencies using the most appropriate Fire and Emergency equipment during strike periods, while NZPFU is alleged to have condoned and aided the conduct.

"I think the public would be appalled to learn officials of the NZPFU appear to have sought to stop volunteer firefighters going on callouts with the most appropriate appliance," Fire and Emergency Chief executive Kerry Gregory says.

"We rely on volunteers to ensure the community remains protected, including during strikes, and in 2025 this kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable," he says.

"The alleged behaviour includes seeking to deter volunteers from responding to incidents during the NZPFU strike action and preventing them from deploying the most operationally appropriate resources to an emergency callout.

"We respect the right of people to take industrial action, but the alleged behaviour puts the community at risk and creates an unsafe workplace. We will not stand for it."

Earlier this month the Employment Relations Authority referred Fire and Emergency and the NZPFU to independent facilitation to help make progress in ongoing negotiations for a collective agreement. That facilitation is ongoing.

"We also call on the NZPFU to call off its planned strikes for this Friday and Boxing Day. It's reckless for the union to keep putting the community at risk while we're engaged in independent facilitation to help us reach a settlement," Kerry Gregory says.

"Fire and Emergency will continue to engage in the facilitation process in good faith with the goal of reaching a fair and sustainable settlement. At the same time, we will do everything necessary to protect our team members and the wider public against behaviour that puts them in danger."

Workers First Union members at Woolworths Customer Care Call Centre have voted to take strike action ahead of Christmas; citing low pay, "clawbacks" (reductions to existing conditions), potential future outsourcing and reneging on 'work from home' policies as roadblocks to a new deal with the Australian supermarket chain. Strike actions began today (15 December).

Woolworths Contact Centre workers are responsible for assisting with online ordering and logistics, customer complaints and refunds, and queries about 'Everyday Rewards'.

Elle Sun-Min Park, Workers First Union organiser, said union delegates had met with the company for four rounds of bargaining over nine days since early October and were deeply concerned with the conduct and approach of the company's Australian bargaining advocate, who she described as "unprofessional, unprepared and obstructive", and who lacked understanding of New Zealand's employment laws and collective bargaining protocols.

Workers will strike by withdrawing their labour from 11am-2pm today on Monday 15 December, with potential future actions to be notified shortly in advance of commencement.

"We've negotiated positively in good faith but have grown increasingly tired of seeing our valid issues and members' priority claims ignored and dismissed by a company that doesn't appear to value its Contact Centre workers," said Ms Park.

"Besides workers wanting liveable wages, the company is seeking to amend its 'work from home' policies unilaterally and require staff to return to the office when many were recruited as permanent remote workers or have relocated their families and lives outside Auckland with the company's previous backing since the March 2020 pandemic."

"We aren't going to return to the table and negotiate with a brick wall for another two months while Woolworths pretend all is well and workers should do more with less and kill their hopes for a better future."

Ms Park said the Woolworths Contact Centre have already dealt with a major restructure in August 2025 and noted that similar job advertisements for their roles - which report to Australian managers and HR - have been advertised in Manila, Philippines.

"We're seeking written assurances in our settlement that New Zealand workers won't lose their roles to cheap international outsourcing, as a section of their Australian contact centre already have been," said Ms Park. "Otherwise, workers will be negotiating themselves out of jobs and bargaining with a gun to our heads - it's not acceptable."

Ms Park said workers are determined to strike and reject "clawbacks" like the employer being able to force people to clock in two hours earlier or later than their permanent roster time without mutual agreement, and to work two consecutive weekends without any additional compensation or allowance.

Workers may vote on additional industrial actions over the coming week, including striking against restrictions on public speech.

Unite Union is appalled by the proposed below inflation adjustment to the minimum wage for 2026.

The announced rate is $4 (over 17%) below the Living Wage of $28.95. Just two and a half years ago in April 2023 the minimum wage was just 95 cents (4%) below the Living Wage.

"We are in a cost of living crisis, and this will mean things get harder for many working people and their families. This is a government that continuously demonstrates it does not care about cost of living pressures. At Christmas working people need to have some hope for the future. A 45 cent increase on April 1 demonstrates a serious disconnect between our Minister for Workplace Relations and the working public" said Shanna Olsen‑Reeder, National Secretary of Unite Union.

Unite Union Executive member and Fast Food Worker Griffin Dilger said: "This below inflation wage increase will continue to make lives worse for workers in this country. As a worker, I see this government as being wholly disconnected from the lives of working people, perhaps their pay should be set to the minimum wage and then let them decide if it is fair compensation."

Unite Union calls on the government to take the lives of working people seriously and close the gap between the Minimum Wage and the Living wage of 28.95.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand received calls for 22 incidents between 12pm - 1pm today, Friday 12 December, the time of the most recent strike action taken by members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU).

Of these, 12 incidents were in areas impacted by the strike.

Six of these incidents were fire alarms that did not result in a fire. The remaining incidents related to two signs of smoke spotted by members of the public which did not result in a fire, two medical emergencies, one small residential gas leak and one small fire in a backyard.

The small backyard fire in Te Teko was extinguished by a volunteer crew from Kawerau.

Hato Hone St John responded to the medical emergencies, as per our contingency plan for this industrial action.

Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler thanked New Zealanders for their extra care during the strike hour.

"I want to thank our 11,800 volunteers across the country, and their employers for supporting them to respond over today's strike hour," she says.

"I would also like to thank our Operational Commanders and Communication Centre Managers, who contributed to the response.

"We are disappointed that the NZPFU has issued further strike notices for one-hour strikes at 12pm on 19 and 26 December.

"This is rolling the dice on people's safety. We've urged the NZPFU repeatedly to call off their strikes because there is no good reason for continuing to put the community in harm's way while both parties are in facilitation."

Bargaining

Last week, the Employment Relations Authority referred Fire and Emergency and the NZPFU to facilitation to help make progress in ongoing negotiations for the NZPFU's collective employment agreement.

Two days of facilitation took place on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 December and facilitation is ongoing.

"Attending independent facilitation with the Authority is the next logical step in coming to an agreement and we will participate in good faith with the NZPFU.

"We hope the facilitation process introduces some realism into discussions. The NZPFU's most recent settlement proposal was more than three times higher than our offer prior to facilitation, which we believe was fair, sustainable, and reasonable, and in line with other settlements across the public service.

"That settlement was a 6.2 percent increase over three years.

"This would have taken the average senior firefighter remuneration from a range of approximately $80,700-$87,400 to $85,800-$92,900 at the end of the period, excluding overtime and allowances which currently adds an average of $38,800 to annual remuneration. We believe this represents a fair and sustainable increase for our people.

"We value our people, which is why over the past decade average senior firefighter pay has cumulatively increased by 37 percent - more than 10 percent above the average increase for all workers."

The Government's 45 cent minimum wage increase is an insult to thousands of workers already struggling to make ends meet, many of them women in care and support roles, who have already lost out from the axing of pay equity.

"This is just further proof of a government intent on making the life of working people even harder. It's offensive and shows how out of touch this government is," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

"For care and support workers who this Government betrayed by stripping them of their pay equity rights, this is salt in their wounds. These predominantly female workers were already underpaid - now they're going further backwards with an increase that barely keeps pace with inflation.

"It's cruel, it's calculated, and it exposes exactly where this Government's priorities lie - and it's not with the workers who care for our elderly, support people with disabilities, and keep essential services running.

"In a week where the Government embraced the biggest anti-worker changes in a generation, this is more evidence of a government determined to do the bidding of its business mates.

"These workers deserve better. New Zealanders deserve better."

The PSA and the NZ Professional Firefighters Union will today attend mediation with Fire and Emergency NZ after the Employment Relations Authority ordered it in response to the unions filing legal proceedings challenging the damaging restructure proposed by FENZ.

FENZ announced last month a plan to cut some 140 roles, more than 10% of non-firefighting roles including wildfire specialists, risk reduction advisors, and training coordinators - all critical to ensuring firefighters can respond safely and effectively to emergencies.

FENZ planned to confirm decisions by 17 December, but it must now attend mediation today with the PSA and NZPFU, to be facilitated by MBIE.

"FENZ tried to rush through significant job losses with no proper consultation which is why we have taken this legal action," said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

"FENZ can't just ride roughshod over its obligations in collective agreements to consult with both the PSA and NZPFU. Instead FENZ only provided an embargoed copy of its proposal to unions the day before handing workers a 265-page document with a two-week deadline for feedback.

"We urge the Government to step in, stop the cuts and properly fund critical emergency services," said Fleur Fitzsimons.

NZPFU National Secretary Wattie Watson said FENZ's consultation process was fundamentally flawed.

"Genuine consultation is the key to only making necessary changes. Talking to those that do the work is the only way to get it right. FENZ needs to comply with its legal obligations."

The unions remain committed to stopping these dangerous cuts and protecting New Zealand's emergency response capability.