What Happens When You Get Injured at Work in NZ? A Plain English Guide
Getting injured on the job is stressful, but New Zealand has a distinct system designed to support recovery and return to work. Between ACC, sick leave entitlements, and employment responsibilities, it helps to understand how the moving parts fit together.
1. How ACC and Weekly Compensation Work
New Zealand operates under a universal, no fault accident scheme managed by the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). If you are injured at work:
Medical treatment: ACC covers a large portion of doctor, physio, and specialist costs.
The first week off work (First Week Compensation): If the injury is work-related, the employer pays 80% of your earnings for the first calendar week.
From the second week onward: ACC takes over and pays weekly compensation at 80% of your pre-injury earnings as long as you are medically certified as unfit for your usual work.
2. How Does Sick Leave Fit In?
Many people assume a work injury automatically drains their sick leave balance, but that is not how it works:
No forced sick leave for work injuries: An employer cannot force an employee to use their statutory sick leave for time off caused by an ACC-covered workplace injury.
The 20% Top Up option: Because ACC (and first-week compensation) pays 80% of normal wages, the employer and employee can mutually agree to use one day of sick leave per five days of absence to "top up" pay to 100%.
Non work injuries: If you are injured outside work (e.g., playing weekend rugby), you use your own sick leave or annual leave for the first week before ACC weekly compensation kicks in on day eight.
3. Responsibilities of Both Parties
Employer Responsibilities
Ensure safety first: Provide immediate first aid, seek emergency care if needed, and secure the incident site.
Incident logging & reporting: Record the incident in the workplace health and safety register. If it qualifies as a "notifiable event" (such as a serious injury or hospital admission), notify WorkSafe NZ immediately.
Support rehabilitation: Work proactively with ACC, medical providers, and the employee to arrange alternative or light duties, phased return-to-work hours, or reasonable workplace accommodations.
Good faith communication: Keep lines of communication open and supportive without pressuring the employee to return before they are medically cleared.
Employee Responsibilities
Report the injury immediately: Notify a supervisor, manager, or health and safety representative as soon as practical.
Visit a registered provider: See a GP, physiotherapist, or hospital, and ensure they lodge an ACC45 injury claim and provide a medical certificate indicating capacity to work.
Participate in recovery: Engage constructively in your ACC return-to-work and rehabilitation plan, and provide updated medical certificates promptly to your employer.
4. What Happens If You Cannot Return? Medical Retirement vs. Incapacity
In serious situations where an employee suffers a long-term or permanent injury and cannot resume their role, New Zealand employment law provides specific paths:
Medical Incapacity: Employers are not legally required to hold a position open indefinitely. However, dismissing someone for medical incapacity requires a strict, fair, and lengthy process: obtaining up-to-date medical prognoses, exploring all reasonable accommodations or redeployment, consulting with the employee, and giving them the opportunity to provide feedback.
Medical Retirement: This is a mutually agreed separation when both parties recognize the employee can no longer fulfil the requirements of the job due to health or injury. It allows the employee to exit the business with dignity, clean documentation, and potential agreed exit provisions (such as early access to benefits, paid support, or contractual exit packages) rather than going through an adversarial dismissal process. An employer cannot force an employee into medical retirement—it must be agreed upon in writing.
Navigating workplace injuries in New Zealand requires balancing health recovery, ACC regulations, and good-faith employment relations. Open communication and early focus on safe, gradual rehabilitation deliver the best outcome for everyone involved.
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