This July, Josh from Key Skills will head to the Beehive to represent our team at the inaugural RCSA Recruitment & Staffing Summit. It’s a chance to participate in important conversations about the future of work and ensure the voice of labour hire is heard where it counts.

As an active Recruitment, Consulting & Staffing Association (RCSA) member, we take our role in these conversations seriously. With big changes to the Employment Relations Act (ERA) on the table, it’s important for the people making the rules to hear from those who see how it plays out in real workplaces.

Josh brings more than 15 years of experience working with Key Skills and our clients. He knows how employment policy affects people on site and what happens when things get unclear or overly complicated. His take is grounded, practical, and shaped by the realities of keeping crews moving and businesses supported. We reckon he’s a pretty solid choice to be in the room for this one.

Why this summit matters

The RCSA is the peak industry body for recruitment and staffing in New Zealand and Australia, playing a key role in setting industry standards, promoting professional conduct, and engaging in policy development. The summit offers direct access to Government Ministers, senior advisors, and industry leaders, creating space for honest conversations that influence law-making. With major reforms to employment legislation on the agenda, it’s a timely and important opportunity to bring front-line insight into the mix. Josh’s on-the-ground experience ensures that the perspective is well represented.

What’s changing in employment law? Here’s what the ERA changes could mean

Personal Grievance Remedies

  • Contributory behaviour: Remedies may be reduced by up to 100% if the employee’s behaviour contributed to the grievance.
  • Serious misconduct: In cases involving bullying, fraud, or violence, reinstatement and compensation may be removed entirely.
  • Procedural errors: Minor process missteps will be less likely to result in compensation if the employer’s decision was otherwise justified.

Employee vs. Contractor Classification

  • A new gateway test is being proposed to help clarify who is an employee and who is a contractor.
  • Likely criteria include:
    • A written agreement confirming contractor status
    • Freedom to subcontract or decline work
    • No restrictions on working for other businesses

Other Proposed Changes

  • High-income threshold: People earning above a certain level may no longer be able to claim unjustified dismissal.
  • Removal of the 30-day rule: Employers may no longer need to apply collective agreement terms to new hires in their first month.

What It Means

  • The changes are expected to bring more flexibility and certainty for employers.
  • Remedies for personal grievances may become harder to access, particularly in misconduct cases.
  • Both employers and employees should take time to understand the proposals and how they affect their rights and obligations.

Timeline

  • The Employment Relations Amendment Bill is still going through Parliament.
  • The Government aims to pass the changes before the end of 2025.

These reforms aim to bring more balance, certainty, and flexibility to employment relations.

The broader picture

RCSA’s active engagement in policy is helping shape a more responsible, future-focused recruitment industry. These proposed changes are not yet law — they’re still making their way through the parliamentary process, including Select Committee submissions, with legislation expected by the end of 2025.

Key Skills supports the draft amendments. We back clearer guidelines, fairer processes, and a system that reflects how recruiting actually works on the ground.

Why it matters for our clients and candidates

  • Clarity in contract status means fewer surprises, whether you’re hiring project staff or skilled locals.
  • Balanced grievance processes reduce legal risk and help maintain workplace morale.
  • Flexible frameworks allow for better alignment between what industries need and what workers expect.

Our message to decision-makers

We’re not just recruiters. We’re policy-informed workforce partners.

By stepping into the Beehive, we’re bringing the voice of short-term labour hire, trades teams, and frontline workers into the policy process. When laws around employment, classification, and compensation change, so do day-to-day operations. The people affected should have representation at the table.

Ngā mihi nui to RCSA for leading this important mahi, and to Josh for bringing our industry’s insight and credibility into national conversations.

This post first appeared in Hire Wire, our free monthly newsletter on smarter hiring and all things in construction, engineering and manufacturing recruitment. Subscribe here or get in touch if you want to talk through anything you’ve read.