Management basics: free online awareness course for New Zealand managers
For new managers in New Zealand: priorities, roster costs, hiring, agreements, trial periods, leave, flexible requests, safety duties and when to get advice.
About 38 min
5 short modules
15 questions
80% to pass
About this course
You now answer for a team's results, and you make calls about people: who to hire, whether to approve leave, what to do with a request you have never seen before. Several of those calls have New Zealand law behind them. This course shows you where those points are, from the manager's side, and when to stop and ask.
It is general awareness, not legal or HR advice, and not a formal management qualification. Some of it rests on New Zealand law and official guidance, and some is our own common-practice suggestion. The lessons tell you which is which, and your employer's policies and agreements come first.
You can study and sit the assessment free, with no account. Employment New Zealand runs free online modules for employers, and the Human Rights Commission publishes a free guide to hiring. Both are linked on this page, and you may prefer them. Pay only if you pass and want our certificate.
What you will learn
Sort your week by what only you can do, and read the main lines of a roster cost against a budget
Ask interview questions that stay on the job, and check references only with the applicant's agreement
Apply good faith in everyday dealings and before a decision that could affect someone's job
Tell a trial period from a probationary period, and say what a trial period does not remove
Respond to leave and flexible working requests under the current rules, and know when payroll or HR should decide
Work out who counts as an officer for health and safety, and say what changes on 1 April 2027
Recognise when a problem needs advice, and choose where to get it
Who this course is for
New managers responsible for a team's results and for decisions about staff, past the first weeks of supervising
Supervisors and shift managers in hospitality, retail and offices who have started hiring or approving leave
Small business owners and office managers who manage staff without an HR team
How the course works
1. Your week, your priorities and the roster costSort your week by what only you can do, stop doing what others could, and read the main lines of a roster cost.About 6 min, ending with a quick check
2. Hiring without crossing a lineKeep ads, interview questions, references and applicant information on the right side of the Human Rights Act and the Privacy Act.About 6 min, ending with a quick check
3. Good faith, agreements and trial periodsWhat good faith asks of you day to day, what has to happen before someone starts, and how a trial period differs from probation.About 6 min, ending with a quick check
4. Leave, public holidays, records and flexible requestsSay yes, no or 'let me check' on leave and flexible requests, keep the records straight, and know when payroll or HR should decide.About 7 min, ending with a quick check
5. Your part in safety, and when to get adviceWork out whether you are an officer, what changes on 1 April 2027, and when a problem needs HR, a lawyer or a free service.About 7 min, ending with a quick check
Sit the assessment15 questions drawn at random. You need 80% to pass, and there is no time limit. If you do not pass, you will see which topics to review, then try again with a new set of questions.Free, and so are retries
If you pass, the certificate is your choiceYou pay once, then get the PDF straight away and a copy by email. Your place is saved on this device the whole way, with no sign-up.NZ$24.90, optional
Sample. Yours shows your name, the course, the date and an ID anyone can check.
What this certificate does and does not show
This is awareness of where the law touches a manager's job. It is not legal or HR advice and does not replace either. It does not show that you or your employer meet any legal duty.
It is not a formal management qualification, and it does not replace a longer management or leadership programme, which can give you practice and tutor feedback that a short online course cannot. NZQA's qualifications and credentials framework lists formal qualifications if you want one.
Warnings, investigations, dismissals, restructures and personal grievances need your employer's formal process and often HR or legal advice. This course tells you when to get that help. It does not teach you to run them.
It does not change what you are allowed to decide. Your employment agreements, your employer's policies and your own manager set that, so follow them where they differ from this course.
The sorting method, the suggested lists and the roster cost example are our own, and the numbers in the example are invented. Where we rely on a New Zealand source, the lesson says so.
If you go straight to the assessment without completing the modules, your certificate is titled Certificate of Knowledge Assessment, because that is what it records.
No. It is a short awareness course with an optional certificate that shows you passed this assessment. It does not show that you can manage people. If you want a formal qualification, NZQA's qualifications and credentials framework lists them, and longer programmes can give you the tutor feedback a short course cannot.
Can I use this instead of asking HR or a lawyer?
No. The course shows you where the law touches your job and when to stop and ask. Real cases turn on your agreements, your policies and the facts, so get advice before you act on anything serious. Employment New Zealand's 0800 20 90 20 line gives general information, and it cannot give legal advice.
I have done First-Time Team Leader. Is this the same course?
No. That course covers the first weeks of supervising. This one is for people now making decisions on hiring, leave, agreements and budgets. It points back to that course and to Feedback and Hard Conversations instead of repeating them.
How is this different from Employment New Zealand's free modules?
Those modules explain an employer's obligations, and they come straight from the regulator. This course adds the human rights and privacy side of hiring, the officer question and everyday manager decisions. Try theirs first if you only want the employment basics. It costs nothing to do both.
Will my employer accept the certificate?
Ask first. Each employer decides what training it accepts. The certificate shows that you passed this assessment and nothing more.
My employer wants me to do this. Who pays?
Studying and sitting the assessment are free, and the certificate is optional at NZ$24.90. This is not health and safety training. If your employer asks you to get it, ask whether they provide or fund it before purchasing this optional certificate.
Official sources behind this course
The lessons are original summaries of these sources. For your own situation, the source is what counts.
Version 1.1.1, last checked 2026-11-03. Approved for publication by our editor on 2026-11-09. Not reviewed by an external professional. How we check our content.
For people already running a team: routines, workload, conflict between two people, keeping everyone included, coaching, change, and looking after yourself.
For people just promoted from the floor: clear tasks, delegating, check-ins, short talks, fair rosters, health and safety, and what to pass up the line.
What a new worker in New Zealand is owed: a written agreement, minimum pay, breaks, leave and fair treatment, and what to do when something goes wrong.
42 min
5 modules
Free to study
Certificate NZ$24.90if you pass
View course
Passed 2 or more courses? Buy their certificates together and pay 20% less.
