Holidays Act remediation - information for former employees
If you've worked at Ara Institute of Canterbury, we may have calculated your leave entitlement incorrectly.
Like many organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand, we've found that some historical leave payments didn't fully meet the requirements of the Holidays Act 2003.
We've fixed the issue and are now working through a remediation programme to identify and repay former employees who may have been underpaid.
Does this affect me?
You may be entitled to a payment if you worked for Ara between 1 July 2015 and 19 August 2025.
Not everyone will receive a payment. The review has mainly affected people who:
- worked part-time
- had changes to their hours
- regularly received overtime or allowances.
Any payment is based on your individual employment, payroll and leave history during that period.
What happens next?
If our review shows you're entitled to a payment, we'll contact you directly using the personal email address or mailing address we have on file for you.
Before we can make any payments, we'll need to verify who you are and confirm your details. To do this, we're building a secure online portal for former employees.
The portal will let you:
- confirm your identity
- check your contact details
- provide or update your bank account details
- give us any other information we need to process your payment.
We'll share more information, including how to access the portal, before it goes live.
Former employee portal
We're currently testing a secure portal that former employees will use to verify their details before payments are made.
We're making sure the process is simple, secure and easy to use.
Portal status: In development
Portal launch: From October 2026
Portal link: Available here when the portal goes live.
When will payments be made?
We're working towards making payments to former employees from late 2026.
Payments can only be made once identity checks and payment details have been confirmed through the portal.
We'll continue to update this page as the project progresses.
Frequently asked questions
Ara identified historical payroll issues relating to compliance with the Holidays Act 2003. If our review shows you were underpaid leave-related entitlements during the review period, you'll receive a remediation payment.
The review covers employment and leave records from 1 July 2015 to 19 August 2025.
No. Not everyone is entitled to a payment. Each person's employment, payroll and leave history has been reviewed individually.
If you're entitled to a payment, we'll email you using the personal email address we have on file. If we don’t have a personal email address for you, we will send you a letter.
If you think you’re entitled to a payment and haven’t heard from us, please email HA.Remediation@Ara.ac.nz.
If you're eligible for a payment, we'll ask you to access the former employee portal and verify your identity and payment details before we can process your payment.
We'll contact eligible former employees once the portal is available and provide information about next steps. Payments won’t be made immediately; they’ll be paid in batches from late 2026.
You’ll be able to update your details in the former employee portal once it goes live.
Yes. Remediation payments are treated as income and are subject to PAYE and any other applicable deductions.
Email HA.Remediation@Ara.ac.nz and we'll be happy to help.