Employment agreements made easy

Business.govt.nz has refreshed its Employment Agreement Builder to help employers more easily create legally compliant and business-specific contracts

Having suitable, up-to-date employment agreements in place is key to running a successful business, so the Business.govt.nz Employment Agreement Builder (EAB) has been refreshed to ensure it is doing the best job possible.

EAB has proven popular with employers since it launched in 2010, but there was room for improvement to make it easier to understand and more relevant for small businesses.

Business.govt.nz worked with a number of groups to refresh EAB, including Immigration NZ, Employment NZ, the Intellectual Property Office of NZ, Council of Trade Unions, WorkSafe and Inland Revenue.

The department also talked to small businesses and tested concepts with them throughout the tool’s development. Its aim was to provide small businesses with an easy-to-use and legally up-to-date way to create and manage employment agreements.

How it works

EAB allows employers to build an employment agreement relevant to their business and staff.

The tool identifies clauses that are mandatory, voluntary or recommended and where they are appropriate to use. Help text and tips throughout the process makes this legally complex process much easier.

Once an employment agreement is finished, the employer is sent the agreement along with a summary of tips specific to the agreement, a check list of practical things which could be done before a new employee starts and a sample offer letter. 

Having a suitable, up-to-date employment agreement in place means employers can get on with the job of running their business and feel confident they are doing the right thing by law, the right thing by their employees and that they are covered if there are any problems.

Employment Agreement Builder (EAB) – FAQs

1. Why have you developed a new EAB tool?

By law, all employees must have a written employment agreement. We developed the new EAB tool to make it easy for small businesses to create legally compliant employment agreements tailored to the needs of their business.

2. Who has contributed to the development of EAB?

We’ve worked closely with a large number of groups including Immigration NZ, Employment NZ, IPONZ, Council of Trade Unions, WorkSafe and Inland Revenue to develop EAB’s content. 

3. How will the content be kept up to date?

Business.govt.nz will continue to work closely with Employment NZ and MBIE Policy as new employment laws are developed and ensure EAB is kept updated.

4. How will you alert users to law changes that affect employment agreements they have created using the new EAB?

We will discuss any law changes that affect EAB in our monthly newsletter. We encourage users to subscribe to the Business.govt.nz newsletter when they create their agreements.

5. What happens if I’ve saved an incomplete agreement in EAB and the content is updated?

The changes will be automatically applied to the agreement if needed and the user will be alerted when they return to complete the agreement that the updates were made. 

6. Who is the tool designed for?

EAB is designed primarily for small businesses with employees. Because the tool also features guidance material explaining its clauses, it can also be used by employees to learn about employment agreements and check specific clauses in their agreements.

7. How do I find EAB?

The tool is available at: https://eab.business.govt.nz 

8. What devices can I use EAB on?

EAB is designed for use on desktop computers, tablets and smartphones.

9. Does the tool contribute to the Better for Business Programme?

Yes. EAB supports and contributes to the Better for Business programme making it easier for business customers to deal with government.

10. What is Business.govt.nz?

Business.govt.nz is the government website for small businesses. The site makes it quicker and easier for small business to interact with government.

EAB delivers to Business.govt.nz’s vision to be a bridge between business and government – enabling businesses to learn about their legal rights and obligations, maximise government information and services, and to meet those obligations.