Can I Change An Employee's Hours In NZ?

Can you change an employee's hours in NZ? The reassuring answer is: sometimes, but you need to check the employment agreement and follow a fair process first.

If you're trying to match staffing to quieter trade, a new roster, longer opening hours or a change in customer demand, you're not alone. Hours are one of the most common things employers want to adjust, and they can usually be managed cleanly if you do the groundwork.

The key is knowing the difference between changing rostered shifts within an agreed arrangement and changing a core term of employment. One may be allowed with reasonable notice. The other usually needs consultation and the employee's written agreement.

Can You Legally Change An Employee's Hours In NZ?

Yes, you can legally change an employee's hours in NZ if the employment agreement allows it, or if the employee agrees to the change after a proper process.

Under the Employment Relations Act 2000, every employee must have a written employment agreement. That agreement should set out the agreed hours of work, or explain how hours will be arranged. This is where you start.

Look for clauses dealing with:

• Guaranteed hours: For example, 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday.
• Days and times of work: For example, Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm.
• Rostered hours: For example, shifts set by roster with at least one week's notice.
• Overtime: Whether extra hours can be required or requested.
• Availability: Whether the employee must be available for work outside guaranteed hours.
• Variation: How changes to the agreement must be made.

If the agreement says the employee works 40 guaranteed hours each week, reducing them to 30 hours is usually a change to a contractual term. You shouldn't just issue a new roster with fewer hours and assume that's enough.

If the agreement says hours vary by roster and gives you a genuine right to roster within a range, you may have more flexibility. Even then, you still need to act fairly, give reasonable notice, and comply with your good faith duties.

The safest approach is to treat any meaningful change to hours as something that needs a clear business reason, a fair conversation and written records.

Do You Need Employee Consent To Reduce Hours?

Yes, you usually need the employee's agreement if you're reducing their guaranteed or agreed hours.

A reduction in hours often means a reduction in pay. That affects a core part of the employment bargain, so you generally can't impose it unilaterally unless the agreement clearly gives you that right and you've used it fairly.

Say Aroha works 40 hours per week at $26 per hour. Her gross weekly pay is $1,040. You want to reduce her to 32 hours because weekday trade has dropped. That would reduce her gross weekly pay to $832, which is $208 less each week.

Even if your reason is genuine, Aroha's hours and pay are changing in a significant way. You'd normally need to:

1. Check the employment agreement: Confirm whether 40 hours are guaranteed or whether there's a roster range.
2. Prepare a written proposal: Explain why you're considering the change, what hours you propose, and when it may start.
3. Consult before deciding: Give Aroha a real chance to respond and suggest alternatives.
4. Consider the feedback: Be open to a different arrangement, such as a temporary reduction or different roster.
5. Record any agreed change in writing: Use a variation letter signed by both sides.

If the employee doesn't agree, you shouldn't treat silence as consent. You also shouldn't pressure them into signing on the spot.

If your business is facing a genuine downturn, there may be other processes to consider, including restructuring. That's a different pathway and needs careful handling because redundancy and consultation obligations can arise.

Can You Increase An Employee's Hours Or Change Their Shifts?

It depends on the employment agreement and how significant the change is.

If you're offering extra hours, the employee can usually accept or decline unless their agreement requires them to work those hours. For example, asking someone to pick up an extra Saturday shift is different from telling them their ordinary work week is now Tuesday to Saturday.

If you're increasing hours permanently, you should still put the change in writing. More hours can affect pay, breaks, overtime, leave calculations, fatigue risk and payroll records.

Changing Start Times Or Finish Times

You may be able to change start or finish times if the agreement allows roster changes and you give reasonable notice. But if the agreement says the employee works 8am to 4pm and you move them to 12pm to 8pm every day, that's more likely to need consultation and agreement.

Practical factors matter too. A change that affects childcare, transport, study or another job may need a more careful conversation.

Requiring Overtime Or Extra Availability

If you want employees to be available for extra work, check whether the agreement has a valid availability provision. New Zealand law has specific rules for availability provisions. Generally, you need genuine reasons based on reasonable grounds, and the employee must receive reasonable compensation for being required to be available.

If there isn't a valid availability provision, you may not be able to require the employee to be available for extra hours or penalise them for refusing extra work.

Also remember rest and meal breaks. If longer shifts push employees into different break entitlements under the Employment Relations Act 2000, your roster should reflect that.

What Consultation Is Required Before Changing Hours?

You should consult when a proposed change could significantly affect an employee's hours, pay, work pattern or security of employment.

Consultation doesn't need to be dramatic or overly formal. It does need to be genuine. That means you shouldn't make a final decision first and then call it consultation afterwards.

A good consultation process usually includes:

• A clear proposal: Explain the hours you want to change and why.
• Relevant information: Share enough detail for the employee to respond, such as reduced bookings, changed customer demand or a new operating model.
• Time to respond: Give the employee a reasonable chance to consider the proposal and get advice or negotiation support if they want to.
• A meeting or written feedback option: Let the employee explain how the change would affect them.
• Real consideration: Think about alternatives before you decide.
• A written outcome: Confirm what has been agreed, or explain your decision and next steps.

There isn't one fixed statutory notice period for every hours change. The right amount of time depends on the agreement, the size of the change and the practical impact on the employee. If your agreement or workplace policy says rosters must be issued seven days in advance, follow that. If the change is bigger, you may need more time.

Good faith under the Employment Relations Act 2000 is the backbone here. You need to be active and constructive, and you shouldn't mislead or withhold information that the employee needs to comment on the proposal.

What Documents Should You Use To Change Hours?

You should use written documents that match the type of change: a consultation letter for a proposal, and a variation letter once the change is agreed.

Verbal agreements can create problems later. Payroll may process the wrong hours, managers may roster inconsistently, or an employee may say they never agreed. A short written record can save a lot of stress.

Consultation Letter Outline

This outline isn't a finished legal document. A lawyer should tailor it before you use it, especially if the change affects pay or could lead to redundancies.

1. Background: Explain what's happening in the business and why you're considering changing hours.
2. Current arrangement: State the employee's current hours, days, pay rate and roster pattern.
3. Proposed change: Set out the new hours or roster you're considering.
4. Reason for the proposal: Link the change to business needs, such as customer demand or operating hours.
5. Possible impact: Explain how pay, shifts, duties, breaks or reporting lines may change.
6. Feedback process: Invite the employee to respond by a clear date and offer a meeting.
7. Support person: Let the employee bring a support person if they wish.
8. No final decision yet: Say you'll consider feedback before making a decision.

Variation Letter Outline

Use this once the employee has agreed to the change.

1. Parties: Name your business and the employee.
2. Original agreement: Refer to the employment agreement being varied.
3. Changed hours: State the new days, times, guaranteed hours or roster rules.
4. Start date: Confirm when the change begins.
5. Pay and leave impact: Confirm the pay rate and any effect on weekly pay or leave calculations.
6. Temporary or permanent: Say whether the change is ongoing or ends on a specific date.
7. Other terms unchanged: Confirm the rest of the employment agreement still applies.
8. Signatures: Have both sides sign and date the letter.

Templates can be a helpful starting point, but they often miss the detail that matters for your workplace. A tailored document is much better when hours, pay and consultation are involved.

What If An Employee Refuses The New Hours?

If an employee refuses the new hours, pause and work out whether you were asking for agreement or relying on an existing right in the employment agreement.

If the agreement doesn't let you make the change, you usually can't force it through just because the business needs it. You can keep discussing options, but the employee is allowed to say no to a contractual variation.

Start with these steps:

1. Re-check the contract: Confirm whether the hours are guaranteed, variable, casual or rostered.
2. Review your process: Make sure you consulted before deciding and gave enough information.
3. Ask why they refused: There may be a workable alternative, such as different days or a staged change.
4. Consider business options: You may need to keep the current arrangement, adjust other rosters, offer voluntary changes, or consider a proper restructuring process.
5. Keep records: Save the proposal, meeting notes, employee feedback, your decision and any signed variation.

Don't cut hours as a punishment, remove shifts without checking the agreement, or pressure the employee to resign. Those steps can create personal grievance risk under the Employment Relations Act 2000.

Also be careful about trying to re-label someone as a contractor, or using a contractor agreement for the wrong relationship, to avoid employee hours obligations. The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 introduced a contractor gateway test, but whether someone is an employee or contractor still needs proper analysis. If the real arrangement looks like employment, changing the label won't necessarily fix the issue.

If things are getting tense, get advice before sending the next email. A calm, well-documented process is usually easier to defend and easier for everyone to work with.

Key Takeaways

• You can change employee hours in NZ if the employment agreement allows it, or the employee agrees after a fair process.
• Reducing guaranteed hours usually needs consultation and written consent because it affects pay and core employment terms.
• Roster changes may be allowed if the agreement gives you flexibility, but you still need reasonable notice and good faith.
• Use a consultation letter before making a significant change, then a signed variation letter once the change is agreed.
• Check availability, overtime, breaks, payroll and leave impacts before increasing hours or changing shifts.
• If an employee refuses, don't force the change without checking your legal position and considering other options.

If you'd like help with reviewing your employment agreements, preparing consultation documents, drafting variation letters or setting up clear rostering policies, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.