Section Sch1B-4 — Employment Relations Act 2000: General requirements

4 General requirements (1) In all aspects of their employment relationship, the parties must— (a) engage constructively; and (b) participate fully and effectively. (2) In their employment relationship, the parties must— (a) behave openly and with courtesy and respect towards each other; and (b) create and maintain open, effective, and clear lines of communication, including providing information in a timely manner; and (c) recognise the role of health professionals as advocates for patients; and (d) make time to meet as and when required— (i) to address not only the industrial issues between the parties but also issues facing the public health sector, the employer, and the employees; and (ii) to search for solutions that will result in productive employment relationships and the enhanced delivery of services; and (iii) to ensure that any change is managed effectively; and (e) recognise the time and resource constraints that may affect their ability to participate fully, and make allowances for those constraints. (3) To enable employees and their unions to comply with subclause (1) , employers must ensure that appropriate steps are taken in their workplaces to encourage, enable, and facilitate employee and union involvement. (4) The parties must use their best endeavours to resolve, in a constructive manner, any differences between them. (5) Subclauses (2) to (4) do not limit subclause (1) .