Everyone
Contact us
Get in touch with us if you have a general query or to get our help with an employment problem.
Pages you might find helpful
Find out about entitlements to annual holidays, public holidays, sick leave, bereavement leave, parental leave and other types of leave.
Find out how to prevent and resolve employment problems.
Find out about the fair process that needs to be followed when employers plan to make changes that could affect employees’ jobs.
Find out about the fair process that needs to be followed to take disciplinary action.
Find out about minimum wage rates that apply to all employees aged 16 and over.
Get in touch with us
By phone
Call us on 0800 20 90 20. If you are outside New Zealand, you can call us on +64 9 969 2950.
Our opening hours are Monday to Friday 8.00am to 5.30pm excluding public holidays.
We can't interpret employment agreements, provide legal advice or bring personal grievances on your behalf. For legal advice, please consult a lawyer or visit your local community law centres.
Free legal help - Community law(external link)
Languages other than English
You can use a free telephone interpreting service called Connecting Now. Interpreters are available for over 180 different languages.
Call us after 9.00am, ask for ‘Connecting Now’ and tell us which language you speak. Hold the line and we'll get an interpreter within a couple of minutes.
Deaf or hearing impaired
If you are deaf or hearing impaired, after 9.00am we can use the NZ Relay Service to provide information.
New Zealand Relay(external link)
By email
Email us to ask a general question or provide feedback about our website.
Our addresses
Employment New Zealand
PO Box 1473
Wellington 6011
Employment New Zealand
15 Stout Street
Wellington 6011
Kordia House
162 Victoria Street West
Auckland 1010
PO Box 92061
Victoria Street West
Auckland 1142
Level 1
205 Victoria Street
Te Aro
Wellington 6011
PO Box 10413
Wellington 6143
Grand Central
Level 2
161 Cashel Street
Christchurch Central
Christchurch 8011
Westpac House
430 Victoria Street
Hamilton Central
Hamilton 3204
State Insurance Building
61-75 Rangitikei Street
Palmerston North 4410
Get help with an employment issue
Early Resolution
Early Resolution is a free phone-based service that helps resolve a workplace issue early, quickly and informally. Find out more about early resolution and request a call back from one of our team.
Report an employment breach
Anyone who sees or suspects a breach of employment standards can report it. This may include issues around minimum wage, holiday pay, leave entitlements, wage deductions and record-keeping.
Find out more about how you can report a breach.
Labour Inspectorate complaints
Report migrant exploitation
Migrant workers have the same minimum employment rights as New Zealand workers. If you, or someone you know, is being exploited in the workplace, you can report it to us.
Find out more about migrant exploitation and how to report it.
Request mediation or submit a record of settlement
Mediation is a voluntary, confidential, and safe way for employers and employees to talk about work-related problems with the help of an independent mediator.
Find out more about mediation and apply for our free mediation service.
Collective employment agreements
After collective bargaining negotiations are complete you must send us a signed PDF copy of the ratified agreement and any other document referred to or incorporated into the collective agreement (unless publicly available). You can send these using the Workplace Online Portal, or by email or post.
Strikes and lockout notices
You must send strike or lockout records and notifications to us by email or post.
Media queries
For media queries please email media@mbie.govt.nz
When to contact other agencies
For any queries about workplace health and safety please contact WorkSafe New Zealand.
Employees and self-employed people may be able get a government-funded parental leave payment while they’re not working and are caring for a new child.
For any queries about immigration or work visas please contact Immigration New Zealand
For any queries about taxes or KiwiSaver please contact Inland Revenue.
Before requesting official information please check our website. What you are looking for may already be available online.
Requesting information from the government - New Zealand Government(external link)
Official Information Act requests - Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment(external link)