On $200,000 Or More? Read The Exit Terms Before You Sign Your Next Offer.

If you earn $200,000 or more and you are weighing up a new role, there is a part of your next employment agreement that deserves more attention than it usually gets. Since the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 came into force on 21 February, employees at or above that level generally cannot raise a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal, and new agreements are covered straight away unless both sides agree in writing to opt back in.

Existing employees who stay in the same job have a 12-month transition period, which ends on 21 February 2027, less than four months from now. With the election on 7 November, the rule has also become part of the political conversation. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori all opposed the Act, and employment lawyer Susan Hornsby-Geluk wrote in The Post this month that it is hard to imagine the reforms surviving a change of government. Any change would still need new legislation, though, so the current rules are the ones that apply to an offer you sign this summer.

For senior people in IT, digital, finance, risk and corporate roles, $200,000 is not an executive-only number. Plenty of engineering leads, architects, finance managers and senior specialists sit close to it once bonuses are included, so it is worth understanding before you reach the offer stage.

What actually changes

Employment New Zealand's guidance sets it out clearly. When an employee over the threshold is dismissed, the employer does not have to follow a fair process, does not need a good reason, and does not have to give written reasons if asked. The employee cannot bring a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal, or for unjustified disadvantage relating to the dismissal.

Some protections do remain. The employer still has to give the notice set out in your agreement, or reasonable notice if none is stated, and both sides must still deal honestly with each other and stay responsive and communicative. You can also still raise a personal grievance on other grounds, such as discrimination or sexual harassment.

The number is bigger than your base salary

The threshold looks at your total PAYE income from that employer over the last year in the position, not just your base. Employment New Zealand lists salary, allowances, overtime, bonuses, cashed-up leave and employee share scheme benefits among the things that count, while employer superannuation contributions (unless paid as salary) and fringe benefits such as a work car generally do not. Someone on a base of $180,000 with a decent bonus could easily find themselves over the line without realising it.

The threshold is also set to be adjusted each year from 1 July 2027 in line with average ordinary weekly earnings, so the exact figure will move over time.

What employers are doing

Employers are still finding their feet on this. When Simpson Grierson surveyed 168 employers in March, more than half had not yet decided how to approach the threshold for new staff. Of those who had decided, 62 percent planned to use it, and private sector employers were more than twice as likely as public sector ones to apply it to new hires (37 percent against 17 percent). Some respondents also worried that it captures mid-level specialists rather than only senior executives. In practice that means two similar offers can look quite different on this point, and it is entirely reasonable to ask where a particular employer has landed.

What to look at before you sign

The first thing to check is whether the agreement includes an opt-back-in term. Employment New Zealand says this has to be agreed by both sides and written into the employment agreement, and it is all or nothing, so you either keep the full set of unjustified dismissal protections or you do not have them at all.

If an employer would rather not opt back in, there are other ways to get some certainty. A longer notice period, an agreed payment if the employer ends the role without cause, and clear terms on what happens to unvested bonuses or shares when you leave can all make a real difference. These are normal commercial points at senior level, and raising them is not a sign that you expect things to go wrong.

If you are moving internally rather than to a new employer, check where you stand as well. The transition protection applies to people in the same job they held before 21 February 2026, or in a different one because of a restructure, so accepting a promotion or a new internal role may change your position. That is worth confirming with an employment lawyer before you say yes.

How to raise it without making it awkward

The easiest time to bring this up is during the offer conversation, alongside salary, notice and start date, rather than after you have accepted. Framed as a question about how the business is approaching the new rules, it rarely causes friction, and most hiring managers respect someone who reads their contract properly. This is also where a recruiter can help, because we can raise it on your behalf and give you a sense of what is normal for that type of role. For anything beyond the basics, an hour with an employment lawyer is money well spent.

What this means for candidates

If your package is near or above $200,000, the exit terms in your next offer deserve as much attention as the salary. Check whether there is an opt-back-in clause, think about notice and termination payments if there is not one, and remember that bonuses and share schemes count towards the threshold. The law may well change after the election, but until it does, the terms you agree to now are the ones that will apply.

If you are weighing up a senior IT, finance, risk or corporate role and want a sense of what employers are offering on these terms, get in touch with the Find team.

This post is general information, not legal advice. Please get advice on your own situation before signing an employment agreement.

Sources: Employment New Zealand, Dismissal rules for high-income earners and Employment Relations Act changes take effect today; Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 (legislation.govt.nz); Simpson Grierson, What is the market response to the $200k dismissal threshold? (March 2026 survey); Susan Hornsby-Geluk, The Post (6 October 2026, opinion).