Know Your Rights: Your Contract Isn’t Just a Formality
You’ve secured the job, and the contract is already in your inbox with a request to sign and return it ASAP. It may be the same one everyone else is signing, but a few things are worth knowing before you hit send.
The Screen Industry Workers Act 2022 (SIWA) sets rules for individual contracts: what has to happen before you sign, and what your contract has to tell you.
“Does this even apply to me?”
SIWA covers most people who work on a film, TV programme or game made in New Zealand, including if you’re engaged through your own company. (A few types of production, like news, sports and live events, are excluded.) One thing to check in your contract: if it says you’re an employee, SIWA doesn’t apply to you at all.
“Do I need a signed contract before I start work?”
Under the Screen Industry Workers Act 2022, your engager must ensure your individual contract is in writing. They must provide you with the proposed contract for negotiation, explain your right to seek independent advice and give you a reasonable opportunity to do so before entering into the agreement.
The Screen Guild strongly recommends that your contract is agreed, signed by both parties and a copy provided to you before you commence work.
Although an unsigned or verbal agreement may still create legally enforceable obligations, working without a properly agreed written contract can make it much harder to establish your entitlements if something goes wrong.
Importantly, you do not automatically lose your protections under SIWA because your engager has failed to provide a written contract. The requirement to ensure the contract is in writing is an obligation on the engager, not a condition that removes your statutory protections if they fail to comply.
“Can you sign this today?”
Before you enter into a contract, the engager (the person or organisation hiring you) must give you a copy of the proposed contract for negotiation. They must tell you that you are entitled to seek independent advice and give you a reasonable opportunity to do so.
The same requirements generally apply if changes to your contract are proposed later.
What's considered a reasonable amount of time?
SIWA doesn't specify a minimum number of hours or days. What's reasonable depends on the circumstances, including the complexity of the contract and whether you need independent advice.
As a general guide, allowing 24–48 hours to review a familiar and straightforward contract is a sensible starting point, while unfamiliar or more complex agreements may require several working days.
If you're handed a contract and pressured to sign immediately, you can ask for more time. You should have a genuine opportunity to understand what you're agreeing to and seek advice before signing.
“It’s just our standard contract.”
Just because it's a standard contract doesn't mean you can't question or negotiate its terms. If you raise an issue, the engager must consider it and respond in good faith. That doesn't mean they have to agree to your proposed changes, but they cannot simply disregard their obligation to consider and respond to the issues you raise.
What does “good faith” mean?
Under SIWA, good faith means that neither party can directly or indirectly mislead, deceive, or do anything likely to mislead or deceive the other.
In practical terms, both you and your engager must be truthful and avoid creating misleading impressions when discussing your contract and working arrangements. When negotiating an individual contract, your engager must also consider any concerns or proposed changes you raise and respond in good faith.
Remember: You have the right to ask questions, seek independent advice and negotiate terms before signing. A contract being described as “standard” doesn't remove those protections.
Ok, now you've discussed through any changes, the contract is signed and you’ve started working on the job….
“What happens if they tell you you’re no longer required and not to come back tomorrow?”
This is why checking your termination clauses before signing your contract is so important. Under the Screen Industry Workers Act 2022 (SIWA), your contract must specify what notice period, if any, either party must give to terminate the contract. It must also state what compensation, if any, is payable if the engager terminates your contract.
The “if any” matters.
SIWA doesn’t automatically guarantee every crew member a notice period or a termination payment. Your contract may not provide for either, so make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to before you sign.
What about working your notice period?
If your contract requires you to give notice, you may be expected to continue working throughout that period unless otherwise agreed. Equally, if your engager gives you notice but tells you not to return to work, don't assume you'll automatically be paid for the remaining period. Check whether your contract provides for payment in lieu of notice, and whether the engager has the right to release you early without further payment.
Protect yourself before signing.
Where possible, negotiate a clause requiring payment in lieu of notice if the engager terminates your contract early and does not require you to work the notice period. This provides greater financial protection than a notice period alone.
If your engager terminates your contract without complying with the agreed terms, you may have grounds to raise a contractual dispute.
“What if I speak up and then they stop booking me?”
Under the Screen Industry Workers Act 2022 (SIWA), an engager cannot terminate your contract or refuse to renew it because you have exercised, or intend to exercise, a right under your contract, SIWA or another law. This applies even if exercising that right is only part of the reason for their decision.
The same protection applies if you have provided, or intend to provide, information or evidence in relation to another person's complaint about bullying, discrimination or harassment.
But what if they simply don't book you again?
This is where things can become more complicated. SIWA protects you against retaliatory termination or refusal to renew your contract, but it doesn't guarantee future work.
In an industry where crew are regularly engaged on short-term contracts, it can be difficult to establish whether a decision not to re-engage someone was retaliatory or simply a legitimate staffing decision.
The protection is about the reason behind the decision, not an automatic entitlement to another contract.
If you believe you've been excluded from future work because you raised a legitimate concern or exercised your rights, keep a record of relevant communications, dates and circumstances, and seek advice from the Screen Guild.
Before you sign, check your contract:
- Written contract:
- Your contract must be in writing, and you must receive a copy as soon as practicable after it has been entered into.
- Termination provisions:
- It must specify the notice period, if any, required by either party and the compensation, if any, payable if the engager terminates your contract.
- Legal obligations:
- It must include a term requiring both parties to comply with their respective obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and Human Rights Act 1993.
- Bullying, discrimination and harassment:
- It must explain in plain language how you can raise a workplace complaint and how your engager will respond. It must also state that this process does not prevent you from making a complaint under SIWA or another law. Your contract cannot prevent you, or someone acting on your behalf, from raising such a complaint under legislation.
- Dispute resolution:
- It must explain in plain language the processes available for resolving disputes.
If something goes wrong, you don't have to navigate it alone. A registered worker organisation such as the Screen Guild can represent you in a dispute under SIWA, with your consent.
You don't need to become a SIWA expert every time a contract arrives. But understanding these protections helps you recognise when something isn't right, when to question a clause, and when to seek advice.
For the full nine rules, see the Screen Guild's SIWA resources in the Crew Zone.
