Why It’s A Good Idea To Have A Work Experience Agreement

When you engage a new employee to gain work experience for your business in New Zealand, it’s crucial to ensure you’re following the correct legal practices.

In New Zealand, a contract between you and the employee is typically required.

A Work Experience Agreement ensures that both parties are clear on essential points such as the operations of your organisation, the individual’s role, termination rights, confidentiality, and intellectual property rights. It will also clarify the nature of the work experience, including whether it will be paid or unpaid, and if paid, what the remuneration will be.

A Work Experience Agreement can also include any specific protections you wish to have in the contract.

Why Do I Need A Work Experience Agreement?

The most crucial aspect of a Work Experience Agreement is to ensure that any unique content produced during the experience is assigned to your business rather than the individual.

Having this contract in place is also important as it clearly sets out confidentiality protections and your expectations for the individual’s role.

Furthermore, to prevent businesses from not providing appropriate entitlements, New Zealand’s Employment Relations Act and the Holidays Act define what constitutes ‘work experience’ or ‘unpaid internships’. Our employment lawyer will consult with you to help you understand your obligations as an employer, ensuring you’re compliant with New Zealand employment laws and avoiding potential legal issues.

What’s Included In A Work Experience Agreement?

In a Work Experience Agreement, we’ll typically include clauses to address the following matters:

• Role/duties of the individual
• Intellectual property protections
• Termination
• Remuneration (if applicable)
• Non-solicitation
• Any other provisions you’d like in the agreement or which we’d recommend based on New Zealand law.

We can tailor a Work Experience Agreement to the unique requirements of your business in New Zealand, allowing you to easily re-use this agreement for future work experience placements.

Why Choose Sprintlaw?

Work experience arrangements must meet certain criteria to be compliant with New Zealand’s employment laws. Our Work Experience Agreement package is particularly valuable — you’ll have a consultation with an experienced employment lawyer to ensure your arrangements are lawful. Plus, you’ll receive a professionally drafted contract that will help you foster a positive work experience culture within your business.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for more information or call us on 0800 002 184!

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