When things go wrong

If you're an employeeand your pay hasn't arrived:

• Ask in writing — email or text. 'Hi, my pay for week ending X hasn't landed, when can I expect it?' Keep it neutral; sometimes it's a bank error.
• If no resolution within a week, file a complaint with MBIE's Labour Inspectorate (free) at employment.govt.nz. They investigate non-payment under the Wages Protection Act and Holidays Act.
• You can also raise a personal grievance through the Employment Relations Authority — but Labour Inspectorate is usually faster for simple non-payment.

If you're a contractorand your invoice hasn't been paid:

• Send a reminder. Then a follow-up. Then a final demand referencing the Construction Contracts Act timelines (if applicable) or Disputes Tribunal.
• For invoices under $30,000, the Disputes Tribunal is the right path — $59.50 to file, no lawyers, usually resolved within weeks.
• Larger amounts go to the Disputes Tribunal up to $30,000, or to the District Court.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 gives every worker — employee or contractor — the right to stop work that puts them at serious risk of harm. You don't need permission. You don't need to wait. You can be disciplined or dismissed for refusing if the refusal was unreasonable, but a genuinely unsafe situation is not unreasonable.

• Tell the lead instructor or operator on the day, in writing if you can. 'I'm not comfortable taking this group on the river today because the gauge is at X and our SOP says we don't run above Y.'
• If they override you and pressure you to continue, document it and decline. Note: if you do continue, you're still legally bound by your duty of care.
• Report serious incidents or unsafe practice to WorkSafe NZ (worksafe.govt.nz / 0800 030 040). Reports can be anonymous.
• If the operator is registered under the Adventure Activities Regulations, the audit and certification system gives you another avenue — Technical Advisors can be approached, and the operator's certification is conditional on safe practice.

You started under a verbal agreement of $X a day with travel covered. A written contract turns up after week three that says $X a day, travel at your own cost, restraint of trade for 12 months.

• Don't sign until you've read it and pushed back. Verbal agreements are enforceable in NZ, but harder to prove.
• If you can, get the original agreement in writing from texts or emails — that's evidence of what was actually offered.
• Mark the changes you don't accept, send it back. Negotiation is normal and most operators expect it.
• If they refuse and you're already working, you have a choice: walk, work the season under protest (in writing), or sign. Don't sign quietly and then complain later — that's the weakest position.

Incidents happen. The first 24 hours and the paperwork that follows decide a lot of what happens to you afterwards.

• Look after the participant first. Get medical help, notify next of kin, document the event factually.
• Notifiable events (serious harm, fatality, near-miss with potential for serious harm) must be reported to WorkSafe NZ within hours — that's the operator's responsibility, but make sure it happens.
• Write your own contemporaneous record. Times, conditions, decisions, who was where. Do this before going home, while it's fresh.
• Don't post anything on social media. Don't speak to media. Direct enquiries to the operator's management.
• If you're a registered NZOIA member, NZOIA can support you through the post-incident process — get in touch early.
• Use the operator's incident debrief. Push for it if they don't run one.
• Look after yourself. Critical incident stress is real — 0800 LIFELINE, or your GP, or the Manawa programme via the Mental Health Foundation.

• The Human Rights Commission handles complaints under the Human Rights Act — free, can mediate. hrc.co.nz / 0800 496 877.
• For sexual harassment specifically, the same Commission, plus the Employment Relations Authority if you're an employee.
• WorkSafe also treats psychosocial harm (bullying, harassment, excessive workload) as a workplace harm under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
• Sector-specific: NZOIA's code of ethics covers professional conduct between members. If the person involved is a NZOIA member, you can raise a code complaint.

• Citizens Advice Bureau — free, confidential, walk-in or phone. 0800 367 222. Good for first-step advice on almost anything.
• Community Law Centres — free legal advice for those who can't afford a lawyer. communitylaw.org.nz
• Employment New Zealand (MBIE) — 0800 20 90 20. Free advice on employment law and free mediation service.
• NZOIA — for members, support around professional issues, post-incident debriefs, peer networking.
• Recreation Aotearoa — sector peak body; can sometimes broker conversations with operators when relationships break down.

Disputes drain people. Post-incident stress drains people. The instructors who come out the other side of a difficult employer or a bad season are usually the ones who talked to someone early — a peer, a counsellor, a senior instructor they trust.

Mental Health Foundation · 1737 (free call or text, anytime) · Lifeline 0800 543 354.