The Employment Relations Authority’s (Authority) has released its Annual Report for 2025, giving us a snapshot of its activities for the last year. Our team have reviewed the report’s insights into applications that were filed with the Authority in 2025 and highlighted some of the emerging trends.
Number of applications: In 2025 the Authority received 3,070 applications (up from 2,745 in 2024), an 11.8% increase on the previous year. This suggests that employment disputes remain prevalent and that demand for the Authority’s services is increasing. We’ll be watching closely to see if this increase in demand continues.
Mediation: Over half of the applications made were referred or directed to attend mediation. This reinforces that mediation remains the primary mechanism for resolving employment disputes, with only a relatively small proportion ultimately resulting in a determination by the Authority.
Application types: Personal grievance continue to dominate the Authority’s workload. The majority of those concerned unjustified dismissal (1,680) and unjustified actions causing disadvantage (1,474). By contrast, discrimination (102), sexual harassment (33) and racial harassment (15) were less common, although this may reflect claimants choosing to pursue those issues through the Human Rights Review Tribunal.
Representation: Parties can choose whether to be represented by a lawyer or advocate, or pursue the matter themselves. The figures demonstrate a clear difference in how employees and employers approach Authority proceedings. Employers were considerably more likely to engage legal representation (62%), while employees were just as likely to be represented by employment advocates (40%) as by lawyers (40%). It remains to be seen whether employment advocates will continue to play such a large role in future years, given repeated calls for their regulation.
Determinations: 852 determinations were issued in 2025 (up from 781 in 2024), and 98% of those were issued within three months from the date of an investigation meeting or the provision of last information. This suggests the Authority has maintained relatively efficient turnaround times despite an increased workload.
Tax-free compensation: 231 applicants were awarded compensation as a remedy for a successful personal grievance in 2025. Of those, 42 were awarded amounts over $25,000 (up from 28 in 2024) and 47 between $20,000 – $24,999 (up from 35 in 2024). While awards remain highly fact specific, compensation awards continue to trend upwards.In 2025, the lowest compensation award was $1,000 and the highest $105,000 (this was made up of one award of $45,000 and one award of $60,000 in Bowen v Bank of New Zealand [2025] NZERA 380).
Penalties: 88 determinations awarded penalties. Most penalties awarded remained relatively modest, with 51 in the range of $0 – $4,999 and 27 in the range of $5,000 – $9,999. Penalties were most commonly issued for breaches of the:
- Employment Relations Act 2000 (failure to keep wage and time records, breaches of employment agreement, breaches of records of settlement) .
- Holidays Act 2003 (failure to keep holiday and leave records, failure to pay annual leave or public holiday entitlements).
- Minimum Wage Act 1983 and Wages Protection Act 1983.
Although, the highest penalties demonstrate the significant financial consequences that can arise from serious or repeated breaches of minimum employment standards. In Labour Inspector v FWP [2025] NZERA 93 penalties totalling $136,500 were awarded for multiple breaches of minimum employment standards by the employer and the director.
Location: Auckland was the busiest location for investigation meetings (224) by a considerable margin, likely reflecting its larger workforce and population. The next busiest Authority locations were Christchurch (76) then Wellington (63).
While statistics never tell the whole story, they provide a useful snapshot of the disputes reaching the Authority, and how they are being resolved.
If you are considering pursuing an application in the Authority, or defending one, contact our Employment Law experts.
