Offer Of Employment Letter Template For NZ Employers

Maria runs a growing skincare business in Auckland. She has finally found the right operations manager, wants to move quickly, and sends a friendly email saying the role is permanent, the bonus is guaranteed, and the candidate can work from home whenever they like.

A week later, Maria's employment agreement says something different. Now she's not just tidying up paperwork - she's trying to explain which promises count.

An offer letter doesn't need to be complicated, but it does need to work cleanly with your employment agreement. The safest approach is to use the offer letter to confirm the key commercial details, and leave the legal machinery for the employment agreement.

Do You Need A Written Offer Of Employment In New Zealand?

No, New Zealand law doesn't require a separate offer letter for every hire, but you should use one if you want a clear and professional hiring process.

What you do need is a written employment agreement. Under the Employment Relations Act 2000, every employee must have a written employment agreement, and you need to give the person a reasonable chance to read it and get advice before they sign.

The offer letter sits one step before that. It helps you:

• confirm the role, pay, start date and reporting line
• make the offer conditional on the employee signing the employment agreement
• set a deadline for accepting the offer
• explain what documents are attached
• avoid misunderstandings before the employee resigns from another job

Think of the offer letter as the cover note to the employment agreement. It should make the offer easy to understand, without trying to include every employment term.

This is especially useful when you're hiring quickly, speaking with multiple candidates, or negotiating salary. A short written offer creates a record of what was actually offered.

Just be careful with casual wording. If your email says, 'we can guarantee a pay rise after six months', that may be treated very differently from 'we'll review your pay after six months'. Small wording choices can create big expectations.

What Should Go In An Offer Of Employment Letter?

Your offer letter should include the practical details of the offer, plus any conditions that need to be met before employment starts.

A good offer of employment letter in NZ usually covers:

• Employer details: the legal name of your business, and ideally your NZBN if you use one
• Candidate details: the person's full name and contact details
• Role title: the position you're offering
• Employment type: full-time, part-time, fixed-term or casual
• Start date: the proposed first day of work
• Location: the main workplace, or a note that hybrid or remote work is subject to your policies
• Pay: salary or hourly rate, pay frequency and whether it includes or excludes KiwiSaver employer contributions if relevant
• Reporting line: who the employee will report to
• Conditions: for example, signing the employment agreement, satisfactory reference checks, right to work checks, or required certifications
• Documents attached: the employment agreement, job description, policies or other onboarding documents
• Acceptance process: how and when the candidate should accept

Keep the tone warm and clear. Your offer letter doesn't need heavy legal wording, but it should be precise.

For example, instead of writing, 'you'll receive a 10% bonus each year', you might write, 'you may be eligible to be considered for a discretionary bonus under the bonus policy, which the business may change from time to time'. If the bonus is genuinely guaranteed, that should be dealt with carefully in the employment agreement.

If you're using a template, treat it as a starting point. Templates often miss details that matter for your business, such as commission structures, a commission plan, IP ownership, confidentiality, restraints, variable hours or sector-specific checks.

What Should Be Left For The Employment Agreement?

The employment agreement should contain the binding employment terms, while the offer letter should point to those terms rather than repeat them in detail.

Your employment agreement is where you deal with the legal detail required under the Employment Relations Act 2000 and other workplace laws. This usually includes:

• the employee's role and duties
• where the employee will work
• hours of work, including any agreed hours and availability arrangements
• wages or salary, and how payment works
• leave entitlements under the Holidays Act 2003
• public holiday arrangements
• notice periods for ending employment
• trial period or probation terms, if you use them
• confidentiality and intellectual property obligations
• restraint of trade clauses, if suitable for the role
• health and safety obligations
• a plain-language process for employment relationship problems

Some terms are too risky to leave floating in an offer letter. A 90-day trial period is a good example. Since late 2023, all New Zealand employers can use 90-day trial periods again, but the trial period needs to be properly included in the written employment agreement and signed before the employee starts work. If it's only mentioned casually in the offer letter, you may not be able to rely on it.

Leave is another example. You can summarise that leave will be provided under the Holidays Act 2003, but the employment agreement should do the heavier lifting. As a baseline, employees are entitled to 4 weeks of annual holidays after 12 months' continuous employment, and eligible employees receive 10 days of sick leave after 6 months.

The same applies to IP and confidentiality. If the employee will create designs, code, written materials, client lists or processes, the agreement should clearly say what belongs to your business.

Can An Offer Letter Accidentally Become A Promise?

Yes, an offer letter can create problems if it promises something your employment agreement doesn't properly support.

The risk isn't usually that the offer letter replaces the employment agreement. The bigger issue is inconsistency. If one document says one thing and another says something different, you can end up arguing about what the employee was actually promised.

Watch out for phrases like:

• 'your role will be permanent', when you mean ongoing employment subject to the agreement
• 'your hours will always be 9am to 5pm', when you may need flexibility
• 'you'll get a guaranteed bonus', when the bonus depends on performance or business results
• 'you can work from home whenever you like', when remote work needs manager approval
• 'we'll review your salary in 3 months', if you don't want to imply an increase
• 'you'll receive shares', when equity or sweat equity hasn't been approved or documented

A safer structure is to make the offer conditional and clearly subject to the employment agreement.

For example, you could say:

This offer is conditional on you signing the enclosed employment agreement before your start date. If there's any inconsistency between this letter and the employment agreement, the employment agreement will apply.

That wording helps, but it isn't magic. You still need the offer letter and agreement to line up.

A Worked Example

Say Aroha runs a Wellington software studio and offers Sam a developer role on a salary of $95,000 per year, paid fortnightly. She wants Sam to start on 1 July and hopes to offer a bonus later if the company hits its targets.

A risky offer letter says: 'Your salary is $95,000 and you'll receive a 10% annual bonus. You'll own the apps you build with us jointly.'

A safer offer letter says: 'Your salary is $95,000 per year, paid fortnightly. You may be eligible to be considered for a discretionary bonus under the company's bonus policy or employee commission agreement. Any intellectual property created during your employment is dealt with in the enclosed employment agreement.'

The second version avoids promising a $9,500 bonus and leaves IP ownership where it belongs - in the employment agreement.

How Do You Write A Job Offer Letter Template?

You can start with a structured outline, but you should tailor it before sending it to a candidate.

Here is a practical fill-in outline for an employment offer letter. It isn't a finished legal document, but it gives you the right shape.

1. Date And Addressee: insert the date, candidate's full name and contact details.
2. Opening Offer: say you're pleased to offer the role, and name the legal employer.
3. Role Details: include the job title, employment type, reporting line and proposed start date.
4. Work Location: state the usual workplace and whether remote or hybrid work is subject to approval or policy.
5. Pay Summary: state the salary or hourly rate, pay cycle and any key allowances, without overpromising bonuses or future increases.
6. Conditions Of Offer: list conditions such as signing the employment agreement, satisfactory checks and evidence of required qualifications.
7. Documents Attached: refer to the employment agreement, job description and any key policies.
8. Acceptance Deadline: set a clear date and time for acceptance, such as 5pm on Friday 12 June.
9. How To Accept: explain whether the candidate should sign and return the letter, the employment agreement, or both.
10. Subject To Agreement Wording: make clear the employment agreement governs the employment terms if there's inconsistency.
11. Contact Person: give the name and contact details of the person who can answer questions.

Before using the template, check the details against the employment agreement line by line. The role title, pay, hours, start date, trial period, fixed-term end date, secondment arrangements and reporting line should all match.

If the role is fixed-term, the reason for the fixed term should be genuine and recorded properly in the employment agreement. Don't rely on a short offer letter sentence to do that job.

Should You Use An Employment Offer Letter For A Contractor?

No, if you're engaging someone as an independent contractor, you should use a contractor agreement rather than an employment offer letter.

This distinction matters because calling someone a contractor doesn't automatically make them one. The real working relationship matters, including control, independence, equipment, ability to work for others and how the person is paid.

The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 introduced a contractor gateway test. In simple terms, if a working arrangement meets the gateway requirements, the person is more likely to be treated as a contractor rather than an employee. If the gateway doesn't apply, the usual test for the real nature of the relationship can still be relevant.

That means you should be careful about sending employment-style documents to contractors. If your letter says things like:

• 'your employment starts on Monday'
• 'you'll report to your manager each day'
• 'you'll work 40 hours per week at our office'
• 'you'll receive annual leave and sick leave'

you may be creating evidence that looks more like employment than contracting.

For a genuine contractor, use a contractor agreement that deals with:

• the services to be provided
• fees, invoices and GST treatment where relevant
• control over how and when the work is done
• confidentiality and IP ownership
• insurance and equipment
• the contractor's ability to work for others
• ending the arrangement

If you're not sure whether the person should be an employee or contractor, get advice before you send the paperwork. It's much easier to set this up correctly at the start than to fix it after the person has already begun work.

What Should You Check Before Sending The Offer?

You should check that the offer letter, employment agreement and job details all tell the same story.

Before you press send, run through this checklist:

• Legal employer: is the correct company or trading entity named? Check your Companies Office details if you're unsure.
• Role title: does it match the employment agreement and job description?
• Pay: is the salary or hourly rate correct, and does it meet current minimum wage requirements?
• Hours: are the hours clear, especially for part-time, casual or variable-hours roles?
• Start date: is there enough time for the candidate to review the agreement before signing?
• Trial period: if you're using one, is it properly included in the employment agreement and signed before work starts?
• Conditions: are any reference checks, right to work checks or qualifications listed clearly?
• Leave: does the agreement reflect Holidays Act 2003 entitlements?
• Bonus or commission: is it clear whether these are guaranteed, discretionary or subject to targets?
• Policies: do your policies support what the offer letter says about remote work, expenses, equipment, conduct or disciplinary processes?
• Acceptance deadline: have you set a clear expiry date for the offer?

Also think about timing. If the person starts work before signing, some terms may be harder to rely on, especially a 90-day trial period. Aim to have the signed employment agreement back before the first shift or first day.

If you're hiring for a regulated role, such as childcare, healthcare, financial services or transport, you may need extra checks or licences before the person starts. Put those conditions in the offer letter rather than treating them as an afterthought.

Key Takeaways

• An offer letter is useful, but it doesn't replace a written employment agreement under the Employment Relations Act 2000.
• Use the offer letter for practical details like role, pay, start date, conditions and acceptance deadline.
• Leave detailed legal terms, such as trial periods, leave, IP, confidentiality and restraints, for the employment agreement.
• Be careful with casual promises about bonuses, pay rises, remote work, equity or permanent arrangements.
• Don't use an employment offer letter for a contractor. Use a contractor agreement and check the 2026 contractor gateway test if needed.
• Make sure the offer letter and employment agreement match before the candidate signs or starts work.

If you'd like help with your offer letters, employment agreements, hiring documents and contractor arrangements, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.