Taking on an employee for the first time - what you need to know

Hiring your first employee is a big milestone for your clinic - the right person can help your practice grow, improve patient care, and share the workload. As a new employer, it’s important to understand that both you and your employee have rights and responsibilities under New Zealand law, and that these start before their first day.

Before your new employee starts, you must:

• Give them a written employment agreement that meets legal requirements and is specific to their role.

• Register as an employer with Inland Revenue and set up PAYE and payroll.

• Make sure you meet minimum standards for pay, holidays, leave, and health and safety, and keep proper records.

Learning about your obligations now will help you build a fair, compliant workplace and a strong long‑term employment relationship from the start.

Employee Rights and Responsibilities

Learn more here.

Sometimes a workplace relationship breaks down to the point that people can no longer work together; in NZ this is often called “incompatibility”.

First step for both employees and contractors

• Acknowledge the problem early – relationship issues rarely improve if they’re ignored.

• Keep a factual record of what’s happening (dates, what was said/done, impact on your work).

• If it feels safe, have an early, calm conversation with the other person or with your employer/clinic owner to see if things can be reset.

If you are an employee

As an employee, you are in an “employment relationship” and the Employment Relations Act applies.

You can:

• Raise the issue with your manager, owner, or HR (if there is one), following any internal policy.

• Ask for support such as supervision, mediation, or a facilitated meeting to try to repair the relationship.

• Use MBIE’s early resolution or mediation services if internal steps are not working.

• If the situation is seriously affecting you and is not being managed fairly, consider getting advice about raising a personal grievance (for example, for unjustified disadvantage or constructive dismissal, depending on what’s happening).

Employers considering ending employment for “incompatibility” must meet a high threshold, show genuine, ongoing breakdown, and follow a fair process; it cannot be used as an easy way to get rid of someone.

If you are a contractor/associate

As a contractor, you are usually working under a contract for services, not an employment agreement, so you don’t have the same personal grievance route, but you still have options.

You can:

• Talk to the clinic owner or whoever engaged you about what is happening and how it’s affecting the working relationship.

• Propose practical changes (e.g. changing days, communication boundaries, clear expectations) to see if the relationship can be made workable.

• Check your contract for any dispute resolution clauses (for example, mediation) and ask to use them.

• If the relationship has broken down completely, consider negotiating an orderly exit that respects your contract (notice periods, handover of patients, etc.).

In more serious cases, especially if you believe the clinic has breached key terms of the contract or created an unsafe environment, you may want independent legal advice about your options and risks before you leave.

When it truly can’t be fixed

For both employees and contractors, there are situations where, despite attempts to talk, mediate, and adjust roles, the relationship is no longer workable.

At that point, realistic options are usually:

• Changing roles/teams so you don’t have to work closely together (more common for employees in larger organisations).

• Agreeing on a managed exit (for example, a mutual separation or ending the contract on agreed terms).

• As an employee, in some cases, pursuing legal remedies if the breakdown is largely due to the employer’s actions and has not been handled fairly.

Sometimes a workplace relationship breaks down to the point that people can no longer work together

Learn more here

Bullying at work is a serious health and safety issue in New Zealand, whether you are an employee or a contractor in a clinic.

First: understand that bullying is not “part of the job”

Bullying is generally defined as repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker that creates a risk to their physical or psychological health. It breaches health and safety duties, and workplaces must deal with it properly, not ignore it or treat it as normal “toughening up”.

If you are an employee osteopath

You have both health and safety protections and specific employment‑law options.

You can:

• Check your clinic’s bullying/complaints policy and your employment agreement to see the process for raising concerns.

• Keep a factual record of what is happening (dates, times, what was said or done, any witnesses, and how it affected you).

• Start by raising it with your manager, practice owner, or a trusted senior person in line with the policy.

• Ask for informal resolution (for example, facilitated conversation or mediation) if that feels safe and appropriate.

• Make a formal written complaint if informal steps don’t work or the behaviour is serious.

If the bullying is not resolved, as an employee you may also have options such as raising a personal grievance, using MBIE’s mediation service, or, in serious cases, escalating to the Employment Relations Authority or the Human Rights Commission (for harassment or discrimination).

If you are a contractor osteopath

You still have the right to a safe workplace, even if you are not an employee.

You can:

• Document incidents in the same way: dates, times, what happened, impact, and witnesses.

• Raise the issue with the clinic owner, director, or the person who engaged you, referring to their duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to manage risks to health and safety.

• Ask for the behaviour to stop and for steps to be taken to keep you safe (for example, changing reporting lines, addressing the person’s behaviour, or mediation).

• Check your contractor agreement for any dispute resolution clauses (e.g. mediation or complaints process) and consider using them.

While contractors do not have the same personal grievance route as employees, they can still use health and safety channels, raise contract disputes, and in serious cases consider legal advice about breach of duty or constructive termination of the contract.

For everyone: practical steps you can take

Whether you are a contractor or an employee, these actions apply:

• Name it: If it feels safe, tell the person their behaviour is not okay and ask them to stop.

• Record it: Keep a confidential log of incidents and save any relevant emails, messages, or notes.

• Get support: Talk to a trusted colleague, supervisor, professional body, union, or mentor.

• Use internal processes: Follow the clinic’s policy to raise concerns informally or formally.

• Seek external help:

  • Employment New Zealand for information, options, and next steps

  • WorkSafe resources for bullying at work

  • Legal advice if things are not resolved or are escalating

Bullying at work is a serious health and safety breach. It is a form of misconduct and must be dealt with responsibly.

Read more here

I want to end my contract with my osteopathy clinic, but my agreement says I cannot work as an osteopath within a certain radius for a certain period of time. What does that actually mean for me?

Restraint of trade clauses are sometimes included in osteopath employment agreements or contractor agreements. They try to stop a former employed or contracted osteopath from setting up or working in a competing clinic in a way that could unfairly damage the original clinic’s business (for example by taking patients, staff, or confidential information).

Can my osteopathy contract include a restraint of trade?

Yes, a restraint of trade clause can be included in an employment agreement or contractor agreement for an osteopath, but simply having it in the contract does not automatically make it legally enforceable.

In New Zealand, restraints of trade are only likely to be enforced if they are:

• Protecting a genuine business interest (such as patient relationships, confidential business information, or goodwill in a particular area), and

• No wider than is reasonably necessary in terms of what work is restricted, where, and for how long.

If the clause goes further than needed – for example, stopping an osteopath working anywhere in New Zealand for a long period, or effectively blocking them from earning a living – it is less likely to be enforceable.

What are the main types of restraint of trade for osteopaths?

In an osteopathy context, restraint clauses often appear in two main forms:

1. Non‑competition

   • Tries to stop a former osteopath from working in, or setting up, a competing osteopathy clinic within a defined area for a set period.

   • Example: “You will not work as an osteopath within 5 km of the clinic for 6 months after you leave.”

2. Non‑solicitation (and sometimes non‑dealing)

   • Allows the osteopath to work elsewhere, but tries to stop them actively contacting or “poaching” patients, referrers (e.g. local GPs or midwives), or staff from the clinic for a set period.

   • Example: “You must not contact any patients you treated at the clinic for the purpose of inviting them to your new practice for 6 months.”

Often, osteopathy agreements will combine these or include a “stepped” clause with several possible timeframes or distances (for example 12, 9, 6, 3 months), with the idea that a shorter or smaller restraint might still be enforced if a longer/wider one is not.

What is “reasonable” in an osteopathy restraint of trade?

What is reasonable is assessed case‑by‑case. For osteopaths, the law looks at factors like:

• The clinic’s genuine interests

  • Are you a key person with strong patient relationships, access to sensitive business information, or a major role in building the practice’s goodwill?

• The type of work restricted

  • Is the clause limited to osteopathy or is it trying to stop you working in any health‑related role at all?

• The geographic radius

  • Is the radius tightly linked to where the clinic actually draws its patients from, or is it so wide that it effectively blocks you from working in your city or region?

• The time period

  • Shorter timeframes (for example 3–6 months) are more commonly seen as reasonable than long periods like 12 months or more, especially for clinicians who need to keep practising to maintain their skills and registration.

• Your level and role

  • Senior clinicians or owners who have deep knowledge of strategy and financials may be subject to a more substantial restraint than a junior or new graduate osteopath.

The starting point in NZ law is that restraints of trade are against public policy because they limit someone’s ability to work . The law generally thinks it's bad for society if people are stopped from using their skills and earning a living. So, as a default, clauses that say “you can’t work here or in this way” are viewed negatively, not neutrally. They are only enforced where they are truly necessary to protect a clinic’s legitimate interests, so a clinic can only rely on a restraint if it is really needed to protect something specific and genuine, like:

• the clinic’s patient relationships and goodwill

• confidential information (pricing, marketing strategies, business plans)

• key referrer relationships or other clear business assets

If the restraint goes beyond what’s needed to protect those things, it’s unlikely to hold up. 

A clinic is not allowed to use restraint clauses simply because it doesn’t want any competition or doesn’t like the idea of you working nearby. The law allows protection from unfair competition (like using confidential lists or poaching in a targeted way), but not from normal, healthy competition where you just go and work as an osteopath elsewhere.

In practice, a court will ask:

• What exactly is the clinic trying to protect?

• Is the radius, time period, and type of work restricted no more than is reasonably needed to protect that interest?

If the answer is “it’s just to stop you being a competitor” or “it goes way too far,” they’re much less likely to enforce it.

Learn all about those questions here

Yes. Whether you will be working in an osteopathy clinic as a contractor or as an employee, you can and should negotiate your agreement before you sign. As a clinic owner or employer, you do not have to agree to every request, but you must follow New Zealand law and, where someone will be an employee, you must bargain in good faith.

This guidance is written for:

• Osteopathy clinic owners and practice principals

• New graduate osteopaths

• Osteopaths working (or planning to work) as contractors or employees in clinics

For contractors

Can I negotiate my contract as a contractor?

Yes. If you are engaged as an independent contractor (for example, on a percentage‑of‑billings or room‑rental model), negotiation is expected and normal. You can negotiate terms such as:

• Fee split or room rent, and how and when you are paid

• Hours and days in clinic, and flexibility for study, family, or other work

• How new patients are allocated and what marketing support the clinic provides

• Use of rooms, equipment, reception and admin support, and ACC processing

• CPD support, mentoring, and supervision (especially for new grads)

• Term of the contract, restraint of trade, and notice periods

• How leave, public holidays, and cover for your patients are handled

Because contractors generally do not receive paid leave, public holidays, or other employee entitlements, it is particularly important to negotiate terms that make your workload and income sustainable.

As a clinic owner, do I have to agree to every request from a contractor?

No. When you engage a genuine contractor, you are entering a commercial agreement between two businesses. You can:

• Decline requests that are not commercially viable

• Propose alternatives (for example, a different fee split or staged increase)

• Set fair limits on how long negotiations run and when an offer expires

• Decide not to proceed if you cannot agree on terms

Even though the statutory employment “good faith” obligations do not apply in the same way to contractor relationships, good practice in an osteopathy clinic is to:

• Provide a clear written contract for the osteopath to review

• Encourage them to seek independent legal, tax or professional advice

• Give them reasonable time to consider the agreement and ask questions

• Be honest about expected patient numbers, marketing support, and earning potential

This reduces the risk of disputes and helps protect both the clinic’s reputation and the osteopath’s wellbeing.

Contractor vs employee tip (osteopathy‑specific)

Simply labelling an osteopath a “contractor” does not make them one. What matters is how the relationship works in practice, including factors like who controls hours and fees, how integrated they are into the clinic, and whether they are in business on their own account. If you are unsure whether a role is genuinely a contractor role or should be structured as an employment relationship, get advice - misclassification can lead to back‑pay of employment entitlements, tax and ACC issues, and regulatory risk.

Contractor vs employee tip

Getting the label right matters. Simply calling someone a “contractor” in the agreement does not make them one. What matters is how the relationship works in practice. If you are unsure whether a role is genuinely an independent contractor role or should be an employment relationship, get advice. Misclassification can lead to back‑pay, tax, ACC and other legal issues.

For employed osteopaths

Can I negotiate my employment agreement as an osteopath?

Yes. In New Zealand, osteopaths employed by a clinic (for example, on a salary or wages) have specific legal protections when negotiating and accepting an employment agreement. Before you start work, you should be given a written employment agreement and you are entitled to:

• Receive a written employment agreement

• Be told that you can obtain independent advice about the agreement

• Be given a reasonable opportunity to get that advice and consider the offer

• Ask questions or propose changes to pay, hours, location, duties, leave, and professional development

• Not be pressured to sign on the spot

Even if some minimum rights are not written into the employment agreement, you are still entitled to them by law. This includes things like minimum wage (if relevant), rest and meal breaks, public holidays (in most cases), and minimum annual and sick leave entitlements.

As a clinic owner/employer, do I have to agree to every negotiation?

No. You do not have to agree to every suggestion or request from a current or future employed osteopath. However, when negotiating individual employment agreements, you must comply with your legal duty of good faith. This means you must:

• Give the osteopath a copy of the proposed written employment agreement

• Tell them they can seek independent advice about it

• Give them a reasonable opportunity to get that advice and consider the terms

• Genuinely consider and respond to any issues they raise

• Not mislead or deceive them, or do anything likely to mislead or deceive

• Not unduly pressure them or take advantage of their vulnerability

You can:

• Decline requests that do not work for your clinic (for example, hours, pay, or conditions you cannot sustain)

• Suggest alternatives that better fit your business model and patient demand

• Set fair limits on how long negotiations will continue and when the offer will lapse

What you cannot do is rush someone into signing, misrepresent what the agreement means, or ignore clear signs that they do not understand what they are agreeing to.

What is unfair bargaining?

Unfair bargaining occurs where there is a significant imbalance in the negotiation and the employer does not take reasonable steps to address it. In an osteopathy clinic, this might include situations where:

• A new graduate or overseas‑trained osteopath does not fully understand the agreement due to language, stress, limited knowledge of NZ employment law, or other vulnerability

• The osteopath is relying heavily on the clinic owner’s advice and experience to interpret the agreement

• The osteopath feels under improper pressure or threat (for example, “if you don’t sign right now, you’ll lose the job”)

• The clinic does not provide the proposed agreement in writing, does not tell them they can get independent advice, or does not give them reasonable time to consider it

If an employed osteopath has been subject to unfair bargaining, parts of the agreement may be unenforceable, and they may be able to raise a personal grievance or seek other remedies.