Start with the written agreement and the actual employer
Employment New Zealand says every employee must have a written employment agreement. For an individual agreement, its current guidance lists the employer and employee, work, place, hours and pay among the required details. Compare those terms with the offer letter, job description and what the recruiter told you. Ask for a corrected written version when a material detail differs.
Record the legal employer rather than only a brand or agency name. If the approach came through a recruiter, check the employer and contact route before making commitments. A real business record, published accreditation and a genuine individual offer each need their own check.
Compare pay on the same basis
Write the amount and currency exactly as offered, then label it annual salary, hourly wage, other gross pay or a claimed take-home figure. A gross amount is before PAYE and other deductions; a quoted take-home amount needs the employer’s assumptions. Hours matter: an annual salary for 40 hours and an hourly rate for variable hours cannot be compared simply by looking at the two amounts. Ask which hours are agreed, whether additional hours are expected and how any overtime or allowances are paid. If the currencies differ, keep them separate until you have an explicit exchange-rate basis and date; the worksheet does no conversion.
Do not treat a discretionary bonus, possible overtime or a future raise as money available on the first payday. Record each separately with its conditions. If you have a confirmed net-pay figure, you can use it with your own rent and living costs in the eight-week moving-cost comparison. Leave an amount blank while it is unknown rather than entering zero.
Put the start date and first pay on your moving calendar
An offer may depend on references, registration, a visa process or another stated condition. Write the proposed start date and ask which conditions must be completed first. Then ask for the pay period and first expected payday. Employment New Zealand says payday should be in the agreement or a workplace policy; a fortnightly or monthly cycle can leave a gap between arriving, starting work and receiving pay. Price that gap before you commit to travel or housing dates.
For a role connected with an Accredited Employer Work Visa, read INZ’s current AEWV information for the route’s published offer and job-check requirements. An offer or accreditation alone does not guarantee a visa. This worksheet records the terms you have; it does not choose a visa or assess your application.
Read relocation support and leave in the detail
If an employer offers flights, temporary housing, a cash allowance or reimbursement, ask who pays first, what receipts are needed, when payment arrives and whether any amount can be reclaimed if you leave. Keep the exact wording. For an AEWV offer, INZ says the employment agreement cannot contain unlawful deductions or unacceptable bonding clauses. Ask which clause would require repayment, what it covers and how it fits the current rule; get qualified employment-law help if you need an assessment of your particular clause. Compare any employer-provided housing with the alternatives and payment dates in your rental preparation and moving budget.
Ask what leave terms the employer is offering and how planned time off near arrival will be handled. Employment New Zealand explains that employees become entitled to four weeks of annual holidays after 12 months of continuous employment. Record any proposed arrangement for earlier leave or unpaid time off separately, including who has confirmed it.
Keep one or two offers side by side
Enter only terms you can point to in a dated written source. Use the notes to record the exact question to send back to the employer. The worksheet temporarily keeps entries in this tab; download the editable file to retain them, and reopen it on this page later. Print a reading copy if it helps a discussion. Private letters, passports and account details stay in your own files; this site receives none of your entries.
Offer A
Offer B, if you have one
Your comparison
The written terms and questions you enter will appear here. Empty fields stay unknown.
Turn the unknowns into written questions
Send the unresolved items to the person authorised to answer for the employer, then update your saved worksheet from the written reply. If the two offers use different pay periods or depend on uncertain hours, keep those differences visible while comparing housing, travel and first-pay timing. The better offer for one household may involve conditions another household cannot use; the final choice belongs to you.
Official sources checked 18 October 2026: Employment New Zealand employment agreements, agreement contents, pay periods and annual holidays; INZ AEWV information. Check the current official text and your own written terms before acting.