Can my new employer really sack me in the first 90 days?

Yes, but only if the trial period was set up properly. A valid 90-day trial lets an employer dismiss a new employee during the trial without giving a reason, and the employee generally cannot bring a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal. Since 23 December 2023 every employer in New Zealand can use one, not just small businesses.

The flip side is that the rules for a valid trial are strict, and a lot of trials fail them. If the paperwork was late, missing or wrong, the trial does not exist in law and you have the same protection against unfair dismissal as anyone else.

The basics

• Any employer, of any size, can offer a trial period of up to 90 calendar days. The old limit (fewer than 20 employees) was removed with effect from 23 December 2023.
• The trial must be written into your employment agreement. The agreement must say there is a trial, how long it runs, that you can be dismissed during it, and that you generally cannot raise a personal grievance about that dismissal.
• You must sign the agreement before you start work. If you do your first shift and sign later, the trial is invalid.
• You must have had a reasonable chance to get independent advice on the agreement before signing.
• A trial is only for people who are new to that employer. If you have worked for them before, in any role, you cannot be put on one.
• A trial has to be agreed in good faith. You cannot be forced onto one.
• If a collective agreement covering your work bars trial periods, your individual agreement cannot include one.
• Migrants on an Accredited Employer Work Visa cannot be put on a trial period. Immigration rules have blocked this since 29 October 2023.
• During the trial you have exactly the same rights as every other employee: minimum wage, holidays, sick leave, health and safety, and good faith treatment.
• To dismiss you under the trial, the employer must give notice inside the trial period. The notice period is the one in your agreement. If the agreement has no notice period, reasonable notice applies.

How the dates are worked out

Trial periods are counted in calendar days, not working days, and notice must be given before the trial ends.

• Start date: Monday 2 February 2026. Tama signed his agreement, which includes a 90-day trial and a two-week notice period, on Friday 30 January. The trial is valid.
• Day 90: Counting 2 February as day one, the trial runs to Saturday 2 May 2026 (27 days in February, 31 in March, 30 in April, then 1 and 2 May).
• Notice given on 28 April: Tama's manager tells him in writing that it is not working out. That is inside the trial, so the dismissal is covered by the trial clause.
• Last day: Two weeks' notice from 28 April ends on 12 May. That is after day 90, which is fine, because the notice itself was given in time. Tama is paid for the full notice period whether he works it or the employer agrees to pay him out instead.
• If notice had been given on 4 May: Too late. The trial would have ended on 2 May, Tama would be an ordinary employee, and the employer would need a genuine reason and a fair process to dismiss him.

The catch

• No reason is required. The employer does not have to tell you why, give you information, or let you respond before deciding. Good employers do, but the law does not make them.
• "Invalid" is common. Employment New Zealand's own example is Jennifer, who started work before signing her 60-day trial agreement. Because she had already started, there was no valid trial and she could challenge her dismissal. Late signatures, missing trial clauses, and agreements with no notice period are the usual failures.
• Notice still matters. If the employer skips the notice period set in your agreement, or gives notice after the trial ends, the trial protection falls away and you can raise an unjustified dismissal grievance.
• You can still raise other grievances. A valid trial only blocks a grievance about the dismissal itself. You can still raise a personal grievance for discrimination, sexual or racial harassment, pressure over union membership, or any unjustified disadvantage that is not about the dismissal.
• Serious misconduct is separate. If an employer dismisses you for serious misconduct, the notice rules are different, but they still have to investigate fairly first.
• A trial cannot be extended or repeated. The maximum is 90 days, once, with that employer. An employer who wants more time to assess you has to use a probationary period, which comes with the full fair-process rules.

Do this next if you are dismissed during a trial

1. Find your signed employment agreement and check the date you signed it against your first day of work. If you started first, the trial is invalid.
2. Check that the agreement actually mentions a trial period, states its length, and sets out a notice period.
3. Ask for the dismissal in writing, with the date notice was given. Count the calendar days from your start date to confirm notice came within the trial.
4. If any of those checks fail, you have 90 days from the dismissal to raise a personal grievance with the employer. Do it in writing and keep a copy.
5. Call Employment New Zealand on 0800 20 90 20 or use their Get Help form. Their mediation service is free and available to you at any time, trial or no trial.
6. Make sure your final pay includes wages to your last day, the notice period, and 8 percent holiday pay on everything you earned.
7. If you need income, apply for Jobseeker Support. Work and Income lists "stopped working during, or at the end of, a trial period" as a situation it can help with.

Common questions

Does the employer have to give me a reason?

No. Under a valid trial they can dismiss you without a reason and without a process. You can ask, and many employers will tell you, but there is no legal duty to answer.

Can I be put on a trial if I did casual shifts for the company last year?

No. A trial period is only for someone who has never worked for that employer before. Any previous work, however short, rules it out.

I was given a contract on my first morning and signed it at lunchtime. Is the trial valid?

Almost certainly not. The agreement has to be signed before you start work, and you need a reasonable chance to get advice on it first. Starting work and signing the same day usually means the trial fails.

Do I keep sick leave and holidays during a trial?

Yes. Every minimum entitlement applies from day one, exactly as it would for an employee not on a trial. The only thing a trial changes is your ability to challenge the dismissal.

What happens if the trial passes and nobody says anything?

Your employment simply continues on the same agreement. There is no need for a new contract, and from day 91 you have full protection against unjustified dismissal.

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Last reviewed 14 October 2026. Written by Streetwise from the official pages listed above. General information only, not legal or financial advice.