What happens during a hearing

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Hearings in the Employment Court are open to the public, unless otherwise directed by the judge. You are welcome to attend our hearings. You can find a list of upcoming Employment Court case scheduled for hearing here. It may be useful for you to watch another case before yours, so you know a bit about the courtroom procedure.

If you are involved in a case, the registrar will send you a notice of hearing with the date, time and place of the hearing. If you have a lawyer or advocate a notice will be sent to them.

If you are a witness the party who calls you will tell you when and where to come for the hearing. In some cases you might be served with a summons to attend the hearing. If you have been served with a summons, the party who is serving you will need to cover your travelling expenses and allowances as set out in the regulations¹. You go to the hearing otherwise you will commit an offence and the judge may order you to pay a fine².

The information below will help you understand the procedure whether you are watching a hearing or are a party to it.

Seating

This is a typical courtroom layout. Note that the Registrar’s desk is sometimes at the side of the courtroom.

Employment Court courtroom

If you are watching a hearing, you will sit in the public area at the back of the courtroom.

This is a view of the inside of a typical courtroom, looking from the judges’ bench, past representatives'/parties’ tables to the public area and the entry door.

Interior of a typical courtroom

This is a typical view taken from the public area of the courtroom, over representatives'/parties’ tables and up to the judges’ bench.

Typical view taken from the public area of the courtroom

If you are appearing for yourself the Registrar will tell you where to sit (this will be at one of the tables in front of the judges’ bench).

This is a typical view of a witness box, as seen from the judges’ bench.

Witness box

If you are a witness you will be called by the Registrar and you will give your evidence in the witness box.

Witnesses may stay in the public area until they give their evidence. If an order is made for them to stay out of the courtroom, they should stay within calling distance until it is time for them to give evidence. After giving evidence witnesses can remain in the courtroom.

What to wear and how to behave

Whether you are a party or witness, or an observer, you should dress neatly and behave in a respectful manner. You should think of the courtroom as a formal place.

Counsel must be robed when appearing at a hearing, unless the hearing is held in chambers or by audio-visual link. All representatives are permitted to wear taonga in place of a necktie as business attire in Court. See here about wearing taonga in Court.(external link)

People who are watching a hearing are not to interrupt or distract Court proceedings. Taking notes using a pen and paper is permitted, unless the judge directs otherwise. Feeding babies in the public seating area within a courtroom, whether by breast or bottle, however, is permissible.

What happens in the courtroom

You will be seated before the judge comes into the courtroom. The Registrar will come in before the judge and everyone will be asked to stand until the judge is seated.

If you want to say karakia at the beginning or the end of the hearing you should advise the Registrar before it starts.

During the hearing the judge is called ‘Your Honour’ or ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’. You must stand at all times when you are speaking to the judge, your witness is giving evidence, you are cross-examining a witness or if the judge is speaking to you, unless the judge says you don't have to.

You must not interrupt anyone when they are speaking, even if you disagree with what they are saying, unless you are acting for yourself or as a representative of one of the parties and you object to the evidence being given.

Your words and behaviour must be respectful during a hearing. For example, you may criticise others (including the Employment Relations Authority and its members) in your evidence and submissions but you should not attack them personally.

You must comply with all directions given by the judge or Registrar. If you have any questions or need information, please talk to the Registrar.

Representatives may use electronic devices in Court but must make sure their use using does not undermine the dignity of the Court, disrupt the hearing or effect their responsibility to their clients. All electronic devices should be on silent mode. The Registrar in Court will provide access to available Wi-Fi upon request if required. See here for use of electronic devices in court.(external link)

At the end of the hearing everyone will be asked to stand until the judge leaves the courtroom.

Note taking in court

Note taking in court - Courts of New Zealand(external link)

Court Announcements

The following court announcements in Māori [PDF, 259 KB] will be made by the Registrar during the hearing.

The judge may open the hearing with a greeting in te reo Māori.

Hearing procedure

The judge decides the order of the hearing at the directions conference. If you are to present your case first, you will stand up to introduce yourself and open your case (for example: ‘Your Honour, my name is … and I am the plaintiff/defendant’). Representatives, parties, and witnesses are welcome to introduce themselves in te reo Māori, and to give mihi or pepeha.

Parties usually make opening statements before calling evidence; this is a summary of your case and what you intend to prove. Depending on the directions of the judge the opening statements may be made just before each party calls evidence, or together at the start of the hearing before any evidence is called for either party.

If you are acting for yourself, you will have two distinctly different roles in the courtroom - advocate and witness. As an advocate you can make submissions (arguments) about reasoning, logic or the law, and to persuade the judge what they should decide. As a witness you give evidence about events. It is important to remember that the only time you can give evidence is when you are being a witness, not as an advocate.

As an advocate, you will be able to examine (lead evidence from) your own witnesses and cross-examine (question) the other party's witnesses.

When examining witnesses, you may ask them to add to or clarify what they have said in their brief of evidence. You may not ask leading questions (putting words into witness’ mouth). To be safe, use questions beginning with the words ‘when, who, why, what’.
Then the other party or their representative can cross-examine the witness. When cross-examining the other party's witness, the questioner is allowed to ask leading questions (for example, ‘I put to you that...’).
Once cross-examination has finished, the party who called the witness can re-examine the witness. This means asking the witness further questions. You may only question your witness about things that came up in cross-examination. You cannot raise new topics at this point.

Once all witnesses have been heard, both you and the other party will be asked to make closing submissions (arguments) to give your views about the case, any issues of law, and what the outcome should be. The party that made closing submissions first will be given the opportunity to have the final say (strictly in reply) after the other party’s closing submissions.

Giving evidence as a witness

When the time comes, you will be called to stand at the witness box to give your evidence. The Registrar will ask you to stand up and swear on the Bible or Koran (or affirm) that you will tell the truth. The judge will usually ask you to be seated while giving your evidence.

You will then read your brief (statement) of evidence out loud or tell your evidence if you don't have a written brief prepared. What you say under oath or affirmation is the evidence that the judge will take into account when making their decision. If you change what is written in your evidence in any way, you must bring this to the judge’s attention.

You will then be questioned by the party or representative that called you as a witness. This is called direct examination or leading evidence-in-chief.

You may then be cross-examined by the other party or their representative. You must answer all their questions to the best of your ability. The judge may also ask you some questions.

Before you give your evidence, you must not talk to anyone about the case during the adjournments (breaks) unless that person is your lawyer or advocate. You should not talk about the case with anyone else who is going to give evidence. If you are unsure about who you can talk to ask your representative or the Registrar.

If you are appearing by audio-visual link (AVL) please see the Summary of Guidelines for a witness giving evidence by audio-visual link including in virtual hearings [PDF, 105 KB].

The Court’s Guideline for Appearing by Audio-Visual Link can be found on the page Before a hearing is held.

Need an interpreter, disability access or communication assistance?

If you have trouble understanding English, you can seek approval for an interpreter to assist you. Please fill in the:

Request for an interpreter form [PDF, 161 KB]

and send it to the case manager that handles your file. A judge of the Employment Court will decide your request.

Communication assistance is available if you need it. You can ask your representative or the case manager that handles your file.

Further information about interpreters, language, communication assistance and disability access can be found at:

Interpreters language and disability access(external link)

Information about interpreters can be found at:

Interpreting in courts and tribunals(external link)

Please note that interpreters are not free. If you want the Court to pay for an interpreter, you will need to file an affidavit about your financial situation and hardship. A judge will decide whether you have to pay or not.

Hearing by audio-visual link

Information as to the expectations when appearing at a hearing held by audio-visual link can be found at:

Guidelines for appearing by audio-visual link including in virtual hearings [PDF, 130 KB]

Footnotes

This page was last updated: 12th November 2025