Workplace Bullying NZ — Employer Obligations & Compliance Guide

Workplace bullying is a serious psychosocial hazard under New Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA). As an employer, you have a legal duty to manage the risk of bullying just as you would any physical hazard. This guide explains your obligations, how to investigate complaints, and what happens when things go wrong — all in plain English for NZ staff and business owners.

What is workplace bullying under NZ law?

WorkSafe NZ defines workplace bullying as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety. It can be:

• Verbal or physical abuse
• Exclusion or isolation
• Unreasonable work demands
• Humiliation or intimidation
• Spreading malicious rumours

A single incident is not bullying — it must be repeated. However, a single serious incident (e.g., physical assault) may be dealt with under other policies or as a health and safety risk.

Employer obligations under HSWA 2015

Your duties as an employer (PCBU) include:

• Identify psychosocial hazards — conduct risk assessments that consider workplace culture, workload, relationships, and leadership.
• Eliminate or minimise risks — implement policies, training, and reporting systems to prevent bullying.
• Respond to reports — take every complaint seriously, investigate promptly, and protect the complainant from retaliation.
• Monitor and review — regularly check that your controls are working and update them as needed.

Under HSWA s.32, you must also consult with workers on health and safety matters — including how bullying risks are managed.

Duty to investigate

When a bullying complaint is raised, you must investigate. WorkSafe guidance says investigations should be:

• Timely — start within a few days, not weeks.
• Fair — give all parties a chance to be heard.
• Impartial — use an independent investigator if the complaint involves senior staff.
• Confidential — share information only on a need-to-know basis.

If the investigation finds bullying occurred, you must take corrective action — this could include training, mediation, changes to work practices, or disciplinary action up to dismissal.

WorkSafe guidance and enforcement

WorkSafe NZ has published Preventing and Responding to Workplace Bullying (2017, updated 2024). Key points:

• Bullying is a psychosocial hazard — it can cause stress, anxiety, depression, and physical illness.
• Employers must have a bullying prevention policy that is communicated to all workers.
• Workers should be trained to recognise and report bullying.
• WorkSafe can inspect your workplace, interview staff, and require you to fix problems.

In 2025, WorkSafe issued over 40 improvement notices related to psychosocial hazards, including bullying. The trend is increasing — compliance is not optional.

Personal grievance options for employees

If an employee experiences bullying, they can raise a personal grievance under the Employment Relations Act 2000. Grounds include:

• Unjustified disadvantage (e.g., being treated unfairly due to bullying)
• Unjustified dismissal (if they resign due to bullying — constructive dismissal)
• Sexual or racial harassment (if the bullying involves those elements)

Employees must raise a grievance within 90 days of the incident (or last incident in a series). As an employer, you should have a clear process for dealing with grievances — mediation is often the first step.

Practical steps for compliance

1. Write a bullying prevention policy — include definitions, reporting process, investigation steps, and consequences.
2. Train managers and staff — everyone should know what bullying looks like and how to report it.
3. Conduct psychosocial risk assessments — use tools like the WorkSafe Psychosocial Hazard Scan.
4. Set up a reporting system — allow anonymous reporting if possible.
5. Investigate all complaints — even informal ones — and document everything.
6. Review and improve — after each case, ask what could be done better.

For a full toolkit, including policy templates and investigation checklists, visit the ShiftScript portal.

FAQs