If your club employs staff—such as coaches, administrators or facility managers—you must follow New Zealand employment law.

This includes:

• paying at least the minimum wage
• providing holiday and leave entitlements
• using fair and safe employment practices

What you must do

To meet your legal obligations, your club must:

• Register as an employer with https://www.ird.govt.nz/employing-staff and https://www.acc.co.nz/for-business/
• Pay at least the minimum wage — see https://www.employment.govt.nz/hours-and-wages/pay/minimum-wage/
• Deduct PAYE and other required taxes
• Provide written employment agreements for all staff
• Understand leave entitlements — including annual, sick, parental and public holidays
• Keep detailed records of wages, hours and agreements for 7 years
• Comply with the Holidays Act 2003 and Employment Relations Act 2000
• Offer a fair disciplinary process
• Ensure a safe working environment

Best practice tips

To manage staff well and stay compliant:

• Keep accurate records of hours worked and earnings
• Provide regular payslips
• Stay up to date with employment law changes
• Seek professional HR or legal advice when needed

Volunteers and employment law

Volunteers are not covered by employment law, but clubs still have health and safety responsibilities.

Avoid treating volunteers like employees. Volunteers should not:

• receive regular payments
• be required to work specific hours
• be subject to disciplinary processes

Consider using a volunteer agreement to set clear expectations.

Sport NZ resources

Use these tools and guides to help manage staff and volunteers: https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/employing-people-compliance-tool/ https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/hr-policies-and-handbooks/ https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/people-management-toolkit/ https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/legal-considerations-for-clubs/ https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/ https://sporttutor.sportnz.org.nz/

Other useful links

https://www.ird.govt.nz/employing-staff

https://www.employment.govt.nz/

https://aktive.org.nz/resources/

https://community.net.nz/resources/