Taupō Legal Corner: Can I secretly record meetings with my employer?

This week, Frontline Law solicitor Julie Schmidt gives advice on whether you can secretly record meetings with your employer. Photo / Getty Images

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When relationships break down and trust is low, employees sometimes enter James Bond mode and want to secretly record conversations with their employer. But is this legal?

New Zealand operates under what is sometimes called a "single party consent" rule. This means that as long as at least one person involved in a conversation consents to it being recorded, it is legal, even if the other people involved are not aware.

However, employees and employers must act in good faith towards each other, and just because something is lawful, that does not mean that it is allowed in an employment situation.

Ultimately, being allowed to record a meeting with your employer will depend on the circumstances.

An example is the 2019 case of Nicol v Canterbury Concrete Cutting NZ Ltd. The Employment Relations Authority found that an employee who secretly recorded a disciplinary meeting had not deeply impaired the trust and confidence the employer had in the employee.

However, the authority found that the employee had breached his obligation of good faith owed to his employer. The authority said that although in these circumstances the recording was not serious misconduct, the employee should not have secretly recorded the meeting. Because of this, the compensation the employee would have received from his employer for the issue was reduced by $2000.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to record a meeting with your employer. A recording can solve any uncertainty about what was said later on. However, if you want to record a meeting with your employer, let them know. There's no need to use any 007 spy skills.

Tell your employer that you are taking the meeting seriously and you want to be sure that you remember everything that was said.