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For employers

Whether you're hiring a new team member, managing an existing employee’s health needs, or responding to concerns about safety or performance, understanding your responsibilities is key to fostering a safe, fair, and productive workplace.

Last updated: 14 August 2025

Navigating arthritis at work can raise important questions for employers. Whether you're hiring a new team member, managing an existing employee’s health needs, or responding to concerns about safety or performance, understanding your responsibilities is key to fostering a safe, fair, and productive workplace.

This page offers practical guidance to help you do the right thing while balancing your obligations as an employer. You’ll find information about disclosure during the interview process, legal requirements under New Zealand employment and health and safety laws, reasonable accommodations, and how to access further support.

Arthritis affects thousands of working-age New Zealanders. When workplaces take a proactive, informed approach, employees with arthritis are better able to contribute, stay well, and thrive in their roles.

Explore the questions below to build your confidence and understanding when it comes to managing arthritis at work.

The information on this page was supplied by Parry Field Lawyers

Is your employee obliged to tell you that they have arthritis?

The Human Rights Act protects people who have a disability from certain discrimination in the workplace (Section 22). You should not ask health-related questions of an employee except where it could genuinely affect their ability to perform the duties of the role, or if it could result in a risk of harm to themselves or others. 

Hiring and interviewing

When advertising for a role, or when interviewing a potential employee, you can only ask questions about their health that:

  1. Could cause health and safety problems in the workplace; and/or
  2. If it could prevent the employee from suitably performing the responsibilities and duties of the job

Your questions should be narrowed down to the specific role you are hiring for. If you ask a question, and the employee does have a condition that meets either of the above definitions, they must disclose the health condition and answer honestly and accurately. If they have a health condition, but it does not meet either of those definitions, they do not have to disclose it. 

If you find that the employee has been dishonest about a health condition that meets those requirements, you may be able to revoke their job offer, or if they have started work, dismiss them from the job following a fair consultation process. 

As mentioned above, it is important for the questions you ask to be specific to the role you are hiring for, and not too broad. 

For example:
  • In Imperial Enterprises Ltd v Attwood (2003), the job application form asked, “Do you have any medical problems of any kind?” The employee disclosed that she had a disease that affected her right hip joint, and she had Perthes disease. She did not disclose that she had irritable bowel syndrome (“IBS’), or that she suffered from a pre-cancerous condition called luekoplakia.  After months of employment, the employee had a series of medical events in relation to her IBS which related in her being off work for sickness. The employee was dismissed, primarily for her failure to disclose these health problems, however, there was no evidence to suggest these health conditions actually affected her ability to perform the responsibilities of her job or caused health and safety problems. The employee had a successful personal grievance in the Employment Relations Authority, and was successful again in the Employment Court, when the employer appealed the decision. 

It was found that asking employees “Do you have any medical problems of any kind?” was discriminatory.

Updating you during employment 

While employees are not required to update you voluntarily about their health conditions, they do have good faith obligations to you under the Employment Relations Act 2000, and duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, to take reasonable care for their own health and safety, as well as safety of others.

You have a duty to provide the employee and others with a safe and healthy workplace. Therefore, your employees should be making you aware of any circumstances that might give rise to harm in the workplace, including their arthritis if applicable. 

If an employee fails to update you of a health condition that may be a risk to safety, or causes them to not be able to carry out their duties and obligations, they may have breached their good faith obligations, and you may, depending on all relevant facts, have grounds to consider disciplinary procedures. We note that any disciplinary procedure requires due process to be followed. 

To showcase the importance of the employee’s transparency with you:
  • In Lawrie v Air Liquide New Zealand Ltd (2013), the Employment Relations Authority found that an employer was justified in dismissing an employee who was absent from work for 62 days in a 13-month period because the employee was not forthcoming with medical information. The employee suffered depression but did not inform the employer of this until 10 months into his employment, and after he had been absent for more than 15 days. Providing medical information about his condition to his employer would have assisted the employer in deciding how to deal with the employee’s absences.
  • In FGH v RST (2018), (and reaffirmed by the Employment Court in 2022), the Employment Court found that an employer has an obligation to investigate medical conditions in a disciplinary process (for behaviour and poor performance), where the medical condition may be an underlying condition of the behaviour or poor performance issue. However, this obligation only applies if the employer is aware of the condition, and, as such, the employee must be an active participant in all processes and disclose their condition.

If an employee does advise you of their health condition, you are required to make reasonable adjustments to the workplace, and manage their work alongside their symptoms (discussed further below). 

Under the Privacy Act 1993, any personal health information disclosed to you for the purposes of, for example, setting up a more comfortable workspace, is protected and must be kept confidential. You must hold that personal information and not use it or disclose it for any purpose other than the one for which it was originally obtained (such as setting up a more comfortable workspace). You should only share the employee’s personal health information with other workers if you have received their express permission, and only if it would not result in an unjustifiable disadvantage to them.

Is it reasonable for to accommodate your employees’ disability?

There are exceptions in the Human Rights Act to an employer’s duty to accommodate an employee with a disability. You may treat the employee differently on account of their disability, including potentially terminating their employment following a fair process, if they can only perform the duties required by the job position satisfactorily with the aid of special services or facilities and it would not be reasonable to expect you to provide those services or facilities.

Every situation is different, and the every situation needs to be considered on its own facts and merits.

Case study
  • In Atley v Southland District Health Board (2009) (mentioned above) an emergency department nurse was required to work rostered night shifts. She suffered from bipolar disorder and began to experience difficulties at work. A medical professional confirmed that the employee’s condition was not compatible with working intermittent night shifts, and suggested that a mixture of morning and afternoon shifts instead of night shifts would allow her to continue her work in the emergency department. Several nurses offered to cover her night shifts. The Employment Relations Authority found that limiting the employee’s roster to day and afternoon shifts and having other employees cover her night shift duties, would not be an unreasonable disruption for the employer.

In that situation it was reasonable for the employer to accommodate the employee’s disability. However, if, for example, the employer in Atley did not have anyone else to cover the employee’s night shift, the end result may have been different. 

Your employee’s arthritis could cause harm to themselves or others in the workplace. What options do you have?

Every employer owes a duty to ensure the safety and health of its employees and to provide a safe working environment. This means that you may also treat the employee differently if their arthritis means they could cause harm to themselves or others, and it is not reasonable to take that risk. However, this does not apply if you could, without unreasonable disruption, take reasonable measures to reduce any health and safety risk, that the employee’s arthritis poses, to a normal level.

Every situation is different, and the risk should be considered on its own facts and merits. 

Some examples:
  • In Wilson v Sleepyhead Manufacturing Co Ltd (1992) an employer dismissed an employee who had an epileptic seizure at work. He had had one other seizure at work a few weeks earlier. The seizure took place on the work floor while the machinery was operating. The employer was concerned at the danger to the employee, and to other employees, should he have another seizure without warning, near moving machinery or while working at height. The Employment Tribunal found that the employer’s concern about safety was justified, and that dismissal on notice was within the range of justifiable actions that the employer could have taken.
  • In Sommerville v LDK Investments Ltd (Christchurch) (2015), the employee was an administrator for a freight forwarding company; in her interview, the employee said her seizures were usually at night and very seldom during the day. However, she had a seizure within the first month of working, and another one in the following month. The Employment Relations Authority found that the employee had not misled the Employer in her interview, she had acted in good faith, and the Employer did not consider any accommodations, and dismissed the employee without any process. The employee was successful in raising a personal grievance.
  • In Lealaogata v Timata Hou Ltd (2013), an employee with severe arthritis of both knees and heart problems was dismissed from employment. The employee’s arthritis prevented him from heavy lifting, any fast activities, walking long distances or going up or downstairs. This lack of mobility made him unable to undertake the essential duties of his job, including tracking and restraining clients (who all had intellectual disabilities). His employer was concerned about his health and wellbeing and the safety of the people he was supporting. The employer considered there was no realistic prospect of any alternative duties being available to the employee. The employer decided to terminate his employment after a fair and extensive process (seven months’ long). The Employment Relations Authority found that the employee’s inability to undertake the full range of duties of his position compromised his own safety and that of his co-workers. The employer could not, without unreasonable disruption, take reasonable measures to reduce the risk to a normal level.
  • In GF v Comptroller of the New Zealand Customs Services (2023) the employer argued (among several other factors) that it dismissed an employee that refused to be vaccinated on the basis that it was taking steps to minimise harm to employees and others. Ultimately, the Employment court found that the Employer had not appropriately engaged with the employee, failed to carry out an adequate health and safety assessment, and breached its duty of good faith, and the employee was found to be unjustifiably dismissed. 

Can you ask your employee for a doctor’s certificate to prove their illness?

You may request a medical certificate to prove sickness or injury when an employee takes sick leave. 

If you want to request a medical certificate, and the employee has taken sick leave for less than 3 days, you must inform the employee as early as possible that the medical certificate is required (this is typically set out in their employment agreement), and you are required to pay their reasonable expenses in obtaining the certificate. This includes the cost of obtaining the medical certificate and could include costs such as transport to and from the doctor.

If an employee has taken sick leave for 3 or more consecutive calendar days, you can request the employee to provide a medical certificate, and they will be responsible for all costs of obtaining one. The distinction of 3 or more consecutive calendar days is important here; if for example the employee was sick on a Friday, and then come Monday the following week they still had the same sickness, that would mean they had the same sickness for 4 calendar days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday). This would mean that you could request a medical certificate that they are required to pay for, even though they were only on sick leave for 2 working days. 

You may withhold payment of wages for the period they were sick, until they provide an appropriate medical certificate if you request one. 

There may be additional requirements on the employee to prove their health. For example, an employment agreement may require an employee to establish that there are no relevant health or safety reasons that prevent him/her from working.  Likewise, if an employee needs accommodations to perform their role, you may seek medical information to understand what they need, as part of considering whether they can be reasonably accommodated.

If you seek this medical information to understand what they need, Employees are entitled to refuse to provide it to you, however, if you are not provided with the relevant medical information, you are then entitled to make a decision regarding their employment based on the information available to you.

Can the employee leave the workplace for doctor’s appointments?

If an employee requests time off work to attend a doctor’s appointment, you should endeavour to reach an agreement to accommodate. For example, you could agree that they take the time off as unpaid leave, make up the time later, use annual leave, or, you may even be willing to agree for them to attend the appointment and still get paid as normal. 

However, if no agreement can be reached in regard to the above, the employee may use sick leave to attend medical appointments if they unable to work due to illness or injury. If they are well enough to work, sick leave to attend a medical appointment can only be used by agreement with you. If no agreement can be reached, the employee must schedule appointments for a time outside of working hours (such as in their lunchtime). Your employment agreements may say otherwise, so you should check their employment agreement before making any decisions. 

All employees in New Zealand are entitled to 10 days sick leave per year after they’ve worked for six months for one employer. They can carry over 10 days of sick leave per year, up to a maximum of 20 days, and can use up to 20 days’ sick leave in any one year. Remember this is the minimum entitlement, and you should check the terms of your employment agreement, as it may provide them more than this. 

Once the employee has used up all their available sick leave and annual leave, you are not obliged to provide further leave for medical appointments. However, you are obliged to be reasonable and act fairly towards the employee. For example, not allowing an employee to use sick leave to go to a doctor’s appointment, if it would not cause unreasonable disruption, may be considered to be a breach of good faith under the Employment Relations Act. 

If an employee has ongoing and recurrent medical appointments, they may consider asking you about flexible working conditions, which you have an obligation to genuinely consider.

Disclaimer

The information provided is a general guide and is necessarily brief in nature. It does not constitute an authoritative description of the law, nor does it replace professional legal advice. You should seek professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters dealt with on this website.

Looking for one‑on‑one help?

Arthritis Assist offers advice, support, resources, and information on managing arthritis. It is a comprehensive support service for all types of queries related to arthritis.

Get help now 0800 663 463

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