What’s in this guide?

Hiring Compliance for Hiring Managers is a practical resource designed to help HR leaders reduce risk, improve hiring outcomes, and support hiring managers to make legally sound decisions that align with business needs.

It includes:

• A breakdown of key recruitment laws
• Real-world hiring compliance scenarios
• Actionable advice for building lawful hiring practices
• Interview templates, hiring guides, and legislation summaries

Whether you’re supporting one hiring manager or fifty, this is the toolkit you need.

Common hiring compliance errors during the recruitment process

Even with the best intentions, hiring managers can inadvertently expose a business to legal and reputational risks. Below are four of the most common compliance missteps – and why they matter.

Not following obligatory pay rates

Failing to check compensation against New Zealand’s national minimum wage or industry-standard pay rates can lead to underpayment issues and serious legal consequences.

Every role offer should be reviewed against current wage laws to ensure compliance. Regular pay benchmarking helps avoid accidental breaches and builds trust with candidates.

Not creating compliant employment contracts

A verbal job offer is not enough. Without a signed employment contract in place, your business may lack legal protections – especially if disputes arise.

It’s essential to issue compliant contracts before a new employee starts work. Contracts should outline essential job functions, pay, entitlements, and trial periods clearly.

Not following anti-discrimination laws

Asking personal or seemingly innocent questions in interviews — such as those about age, marital status, religion, or nationality — can breach anti discrimination laws and trigger complaints.

Hiring managers must focus on role-relevant questions only. Structured interviews and training can help reduce bias and ensure fair candidate treatment.

Failing general hiring regulations during the hiring process

Many businesses overlook critical compliance details like verifying work eligibility, maintaining privacy, or standardising their recruitment process.

Skipping these steps can cause inconsistent hiring decisions and expose your business to unnecessary legal trouble. Standardisation and ongoing training are key to long-term compliance.

Why recruitment compliance matters

A single misstep in your hiring process can lead to legal disputes, regulatory breaches, or reputational damage. From incorrect trial periods to breaches of anti discrimination laws, the risks are very real – but also preventable.

This guide helps you:

• Stay across relevant laws and changes to NZ hiring regulations
• Reduce risk throughout interviews, offers, and onboarding
• Build confidence in every hiring decision
• Support a positive candidate experience while protecting your brand

Key recruitment laws and regulations

New Zealand’s hiring environment is shaped by a range of workplace and labor laws that employers must understand. Whether you’re hiring your first team member or reviewing existing processes, here are the core legal pillars you should know.

Employment Relations Act 2000

This is the foundation of employment law in New Zealand. It covers employment agreements, good faith obligations, dispute resolution, and the minimum entitlements for employees. Any recruitment activity must align with its requirements.

Human Rights Act 1993

This legislation underpins anti discrimination laws in the hiring process. Employers must avoid any form of discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, disability, and other protected characteristics – especially during interviews and candidate selection.

Holidays Act 2003

This governs employee leave entitlements, including annual leave, public holidays, sick leave, and bereavement leave. Even in the early stages of hiring, it’s essential to consider how these entitlements will be communicated and reflected in contracts.

Wages Protection Act 1983 and Minimum Wage Act 1983

These laws ensure workers are paid correctly, and that deductions are lawful and transparent. Employers must regularly review their pay rates against the latest government standards to avoid underpayment risks.

Privacy Act 2020

Hiring often involves collecting and storing sensitive personal information. This law outlines how candidate data must be handled, secured, and disposed of – an often overlooked area of hiring compliance.

Immigration Act 2009

If you’re hiring candidates from overseas, it’s critical to confirm work eligibility and visa conditions. Breaching immigration rules can lead to serious legal requirements and penalties for businesses.

How can hiring managers ensure recruitment compliance?

Compliance starts with consistency. This guide shows you how to:

• Standardise your recruitment approach across all manager
• Build clear decision-making criteria into interviews
• Safely document and store candidate data
• Avoid personal or biased questions and stay focused on role requirements

You don’t need to overcomplicate your hiring process – just create one that’s legally sound and repeatable across your team. Recruitment software can help with that. 

Ready to lead confident, compliant hiring?

You don’t need to be an employment lawyer to get hiring right.

With Hiring Compliance for Hiring Managers and the right systems in place, you can help your team recruit legally, fairly, and effectively – no matter your size or industry.

Download your copy now and give your hiring managers the tools and structure they need. Already hiring? Try our free hiring tool to get started.

How can Employment Hero help?

With our guide on hand, you can lead your team with confidence. The next step is implementing the right tools – and that’s where the Employment Operating System comes in. 

With the Employment Operating System, you can do it all: advertise, recruit and shortlist candidates while you sleep. With the Employment OS, you can onboard new employees quickly, assign key workplace policies and training modules for digital acknowledgement in just a few clicks, and set up rosters and payroll in the same breath. Plus, access on-demand employment advice and support through our HR Advisory service – whenever you need it. 

Related resources from Employment Hero

• Employment Hero’s free hiring tool
• Recruitment Software
• HR Compliance Checklist for Kiwi Businesses
• Employment Law Updates 2025

Ready to transform the way you hire? Book a demo today to get started.