FMA records nine personal grievances in latest year

Tuesday, 16 December 2025

The number of personal grievances initiated by FMA staff far outstripped those taken by other financial regulators; the Reserve Bank and the Commerce Commission, both of which have larger workforces.

Nine workers at the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) took personal grievances against it in its latest financial year ending June 30, with six winning a combined $181,950 in payments, a document published on Parliament’s website shows.

The number of personal grievances initiated by FMA staff far outstripped those taken by New Zealand’s other financial regulators; the Reserve Bank Te Pūtea Matua and the Commerce Commission Te Komihana Tauhokohoko, both of which have larger workforces.

A personal grievance is an action taken by an employee against a current or former employer when they have an employment issue they are unable to resolve.

The FMA said four of the personal grievances “originated” from restructuring as the regulator reduced its headcount as it tried to close its deficit to operate in what it called a “fiscally sustainable” way.

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The Reserve Bank faced two personal grievances from employees in 2024/25.

“Four of the total grievances were resolved quickly and amicably without settlement agreement required, and none proceeded to the Employment Relations Authority for determination,” a spokesperson for the FMA said.

“The total costs for settlements were relative to the seniority of the roles and in reaching a pragmatic and cost-effective outcome,” they said.

The FMA has been in the media spotlight after Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson announced the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment was conducting an investigation into “matters raised” relating to its chairperson Craig Stobo.

Stobo, a respected financial markets veteran, had been brought into to help restore the FMA’s relations with financial markets participants, which had deteriorated in its 2023/24 financial year.

The Commerce Commission, which is soon to pass responsibility for policing lending laws to the FMA, had no personal grievances from staff in the 2024/25 financial year, and the Reserve Bank faced two, with one employee being paid $83,333.

While the FMA had 320 full time equivalent employees, that compared with 412 at the Commerce Commission and 589 at the Reserve Bank.

Veteran employment lawyer Jennifer Mills said in her 30 years she had never seen such a high level of personal grievances being taken across the country.

She felt some of that was the result of a post-Covid lack of resilience and worse mental health among a portion of workers, and some related to widespread restructuring.

However, she said with the jobs market so bad, some people were desperate for settlements “just to survive”.

The job separation rate is around its historical average, but the job-finding rate is at its lowest level in 30 years, data from the Reserve Bank shows.

Late last month, the Reserve Bank said that people who lost their job in the past year have faced the hardest time in three decades for finding a new one, worse than the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.

There was no benchmark for what was a reasonable number of personal grievances taken against an employer, Mills said.

“Best practice is no personal grievances, of course,” she said.

But just because a personal grievance was taken against an employer like the FMA did not indicate it had done something wrong, she said.

Payments made to people taking personal grievances could be a pragmatic way of ending a dispute, Mills said.

Employment lawyer Russell Drake said the number of applications for mediation to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment increased 23% in 2023/24 to 4580.

MBIE has not published a comparable figure in its 2024/25 annual report, but said applications for mediation had increased by another 9.1% indicating the annual total had approached 5000.

The FMA also had a 13% “voluntary” staff turnover, compared with 16.9% at the Reserve Bank (though it claims a “core unplanned turnover” rate of 10.2%), and 10.8% at the Commerce Commission.

The FMA’s turnover was up from 11.9% the previous year, but down from the 18.9% a year earlier, and it paid just over $1 million in redundancy packages during its 2024/25 financial year, the document published by Parliament showed.

“The FMA reduced headcount in 2025 after a sustained period of growth,” the FMA spokesperson told The Post.

“The reduction reflects the FMA’s evolution to be a more data and intelligence-led regulator, ensuring we are operating in a fiscally sustainable way and are set up to deliver on our evolving remit,” they said.

“Turnover between 10% and 15% is generally considered reasonable,” the spokesperson said.

“People move on for a variety of reasons,” it said.

In a statement to The Post, the FMA said September surveying of staff showed an overall engagement score of 72%, which was higher than the public sector benchmark score of 69%.

This indicated “stable sentiment”, the FMA said.

“We care for our team, and have a committed, engaged workforce dedicated to building trust and confidence in New Zealand's financial services,” the FMA spokesperson said.