The Public Service Association (PSA) has filed legal action against ACC, alleging it has breached its collective agreement by failing to consult the union before imposing new working from home rules on staff.
The Union says ACC told staff on 7 October that they would be required to work from their office three days a week, up from two. This amounted to a significant change to ACC’s Remote Working Policy and is in breach of existing agreements between staff and ACC, the PSA said in a statement.
The PSA says it received less than an hour’s notice of the decision, and claims the decision was made without consultation.
“ACC has ridden roughshod over its legal obligations under the collective agreement and completely ignored the views of workers by taking this unilateral step,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“Flexible working arrangements are a win-win for employers and workers and in many cases, ACC had advertised this flexible work as a benefit of working at ACC. People who work at ACC deserve to have existing legal arrangements upheld and to be consulted on changes that will significantly impact their working lives.”
The PSA is asking the Employment Relations Authority to require ACC to suspend the new rule due to take effect from 1 December 2025 and instead require ACC to begin a proper consultation.
“This is not the behaviour we expect from any public sector employer when the obligations spelt out in collective agreements are crystal clear. The collective also requires ACC ‘to promote and maintain mutual trust and co-operation between ACC and its staff,” said Ms Fitzsimons.
“Staff morale at ACC is at rock bottom, 1200 workers went joined the mega strike on October 23.
“ACC needs to hear their voice – fix the culture problems, reverse the decision on working from home and come back to bargaining with a fair pay offer.”
