Upcoming Employment Law Changes

Not only does 2025 bring a rise to the minimum wage on 1 April 2025, but there are also a few important proposed employment related legislation changes which could affect employers.

Personal Grievances

 Current legislation allows any employee to raise an unjustified dismissal personal grievance.  The government is proposing to introduce an income threshold, meaning that an employee who earns more than $180,000 would not be able to raise a claim for unjustified dismissal. The intention of this is to give employers the flexibility to find the right candidates for key leadership and specialist positions, without facing expensive dismissal procedures if they’re not a good fit. This proposal doesn’t mean that an employee earning over $180,000 cannot raise a personal grievance however; there are 12 different types of personal grievances, so if this change were to be put forward it may see a rise in employees repositioning their claim as unjustified disadvantage, or seeking other benefits for not being able to raise an unjustified dismissal claim. This is due to come into effect the day following the Royal Assent (after it comes into the legislation). A date has not yet been set but is due to come into effect in 2025.

A potential win for employers is a reform that has recently been announced regarding employee misconduct and personal grievances. These changes would prevent employees who have behaved in such a way that amounts to serious misconduct from being awarded remedies. For example, if there was a mistake in the termination process but there was a valid reason to dismiss the employee the employee would not be awarded any remedies. While a date has not yet been set, this bill is due to come into effect in 2025.

A new Bill was introduced in November 2024 which proposes “risk free” exit negotiations for employers. Should it pass in its current form, employers and employees could mutually agree to terminate the employment relationship via a negotiated settlement, which would prevent the employee from pursuing any claims against the employer. Much like the above, no dates have been set. However, we will keep you updated about the changes and in the meantime if you need help navigating the exiting of an employee or responding to a personal grievance, please contact one of our consultants.