Business sold or contract lost? Rights for cleaners, caterers, security and other 'specified' workers

Who is covered

Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act gives extra protection to 'specified employees', listed in Schedule 1A. Employment NZ's summary lists: cleaning and food catering services at any workplace; laundry services for education, health or aged care; orderly services in health or aged care; caretaking in education; and security services (guarding, real-time on-site CCTV monitoring, crowd control, prisoner escort or court custody, mobile patrols, cash collection).

The schedule has exceptions, and the Minister can add or remove categories. Early versions of the 2025-26 law changes proposed exempting small employers from Part 6A (commentary cited fewer than 20 employees, or 19 or fewer). I couldn't confirm whether that exemption is in the final Act, and Employment NZ's page doesn't mention one, so check Schedule 1A and Part 6A on legislation.govt.nz or call Employment NZ before relying on, or ruling out, your right to transfer.

What triggers the rules

• The business, or part of it, is sold or transferred.
• Work is contracted out or brought back in-house.
• A service contract is lost to another provider.

Your right to transfer, step by step

1. Your employer must tell you as soon as possible and at least 20 working days before the restructure takes effect.
2. They must give you relevant information as soon as possible and at least 15 working days beforehand.
3. If your work will no longer be needed by them and the new employer will do the same type of work, you can elect to transfer on your existing terms and conditions.
4. Send a signed written election notice to your current employer within 10 working days of receiving the information (or another timeframe you agree).
5. Your employer passes your election to the new employer, as soon as possible or within 5 working days.

If you choose not to transfer, or can't

• You and your employer can agree an alternative in writing, such as redeployment.
• If you don't transfer, you may be made redundant after a fair and reasonable process.
• If your agreement is silent on redundancy entitlements in a restructuring, the Employment Relations Authority can help decide them if you can't agree, considering length of service, notice given, the employer's ability to pay, and your job prospects.

If you're not a specified employee

There is no automatic right to follow the work. Check whether the sale agreement is offering jobs; a new owner can choose who to employ. The old employer still has to run a fair workplace change process if your role is being disestablished, and you're owed final pay, notice and any redundancy entitlements in your contract. New employers sometimes offer jobs on different terms, so you can negotiate before accepting.