New Zealand | Understanding Medical and Dental Employment Contracts

In New Zealand, salaried medical and dental officers are offered employment terms which are both flexible and secure with generous leave entitlements. Read on for details.

Transferable Place of Work

Since July 2022, Health New Zealand has replaced the 20 district health boards as the employer in job offers and employment contracts with doctors and dentists. This has brought a distinct advantage to both employer and practitioners who wish to change their place of practice in alignment with career and lifestyle goals.

A move from one hospital to another can now be arranged by the transfer of the employment agreement between hospitals allowing the employee to retain the terms of the existing agreement, acknowledging duration of service in New Zealand and practice overseas.  Some adjustments may be required to the on call allowances in the new place of work, depending upon the job size and on call rota, but the other terms are preserved.

Without the stress of resignation and renegotiation of new employment terms, the process of relocation within New Zealand is simplified allowing Health New Zealand to retain and relocate talented staff whilst physicians and dentists can broaden their skills and experience by working in different clinical environments.

Permanent Employment Contracts

Employment contracts with Health New Zealand are permanent unless a termination date is set out in the job offer and employment agreement. With no end date, the employee has the opportunity to work until retirement or departure and transfer the agreement from one hospital to another if so desired. Contracts can be terminated at any time with three months notice.

This provides security and advantages for both hospitals and medical and dental officers. The latter can enjoy their work, provide continuity of patient care and develop the quality of their services whilst becoming involved in long term projects in clinical research, education, leadership and quality management. It brings opportunities to develop new skills, enhance competencies and design career and life goals in a leisurely fashion without the relentless pressure created by short term contracts and the need to continually re-apply for jobs.

Hospitals benefit considerably from reduced staff turnover which encourages the development of stable working relationships between clinical team members and improved service delivery.

Fixed Term Contracts

Fixed term contracts are those with a defined duration of employment and/or termination date and are used in specific situations:

• fellowships - fellowships are 6-12 month programs in defined and highly specialised clinical fields suitable for doctors who have completed vocational training.
• leave cover - employment contracts of up to 12 months duration to cover the parental, extended sick leave or sabbatical leave of an employed doctor or dentist who is expected to return to work at the end of the agreed period of leave.
• locums - long term locums are used to fill gaps in service where an overseas doctor or dentist is expected but the date of arrival is uncertain
• resident medical officers - house officer and registrar contracts can be of fixed term duration on request or in response to service requirements.

Fixed term contracts do not provide the same level of security as permanent contracts but are useful for candidates who do not want a long term commitment and wish to work in New Zealand for a short time for the purpose of higher specialist training (fellowship) or simply to experience life in New Zealand whilst on sabbatical or other leave from their home country practice.

Short Term Locum Contracts

Short term locums are employed to cover staff leave on contracts which set out exact dates and hours of work including on call duties and shifts (emergency medicine and intensive care medicine). Payment is based upon hourly or daily rates or shift rates, dependent upon level of experience and night shifts often attract increased rates.

Hours of Work and Job Size

The job size is defined as the average weekly number of hours the practitioner is required to undertake the following:

• routine duties and responsibilities, including such scheduled activities as out-patient clinics, theatre lists and departmental meetings
• non-clinical duties and responsibilities
• duties at locations other than the usual workplace
• rostered after hours’ on-call duties, including telephone consultations and other relevant discussions.

This comprises the basic 40 hour working week Monday - Friday plus additional on call and extra duties, referred to as 1 Full Time Employee (1 FTE). However it is possible to negotiate a reduced job size by restricting or eliminating some duties resulting in contracts which are normally designated as 0.8 FTE, 0.6FTE, 0.5FTE depending upon the hours worked.

This is advantageous for hospitals who do not require a full time commitment and for doctors and dentists who wish to work part time or split their time between public and private practice. Once overseas doctors and dentists complete their supervision period and secure full vocational or general registration, they may wish to pursue opportunities in the private sector on a full time or part time basis. It is therefore possible to practice privately whilst retaining some duties in the public sector.

It must be stressed that candidates who need a visa to work in New Zealand must hold a job at 0.8 FTE as a minimum requirement for visa sponsorship. The shorter job sizes are appropriate only for those with citizenship or permanent residence.

Annual Leave and Public Holidays

Annual leave is generous in New Zealand, particularly for American and Canadian physicians and dentists who are used to brief annual vacation allowances. Six weeks per annum is the official paid annual leave allowance plus 12 days public holidays per year.

Educational Leave

All full time doctors and dentists have a right to 10 days study leave per year plus an allowance of NZD 16K to cover the costs of attending courses, conferences and study materials.

Long Service Leave

Salaried medical and dental officers are entitled to two weeks long service leave after each 10 years of continuous service in New Zealand, or with an overseas health organisation approved by the New Zealand government as part of a foreign policy programme. This includes a period of post-graduate medical training overseas where the employee has subsequently returned to employment in New Zealand.

Onerous Duties Leave

The employer may grant special leave of up to five working days per annum, after taking into account the advice from employee nominated representatives, to a medical or dental officer whose duties have been exceptionally onerous in the previous 12 months.

Parental Leave

Employees who are primary carers are entitled to:

• paid leave period of up to six weeks on full pay
• unpaid leave of 6 to 12 months duration depending upon duration of service.

The employer must be given not less than three month's written notice of the proposed leave and at least one month's notice of return to work.

Pregnant employees are entitled to work reduced hours from 28 weeks gestation.

Leave for Illness, Accident and Bereavement

Employees are entitled to reasonable leave on full pay in the event of their personal illness or accident or that of a close family member, and on the bereavement of someone with whom they have had a close association. An employee who falls ill or suffers a bereavement during a period of approved annual leave may be entitled to paid sick leave for the period of that illness and have those days credited back to their annual leave balance.

The employer may require a medical certificate where the period of the illness exceeds three working days and the employer has the right to require the employee to undergo an independent medical assessment paid for by the employer.



New Zealand offers excellent employment terms with competitive remuneration packages for doctors and dentists at all career stages. Explore the current jobs available or contact us for further information about searching for jobs in New Zealand. You can also review further information in our New Zealand section.