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Minimum Wage to Increase as at 1st April 2019.

The minimum Adult wage increases by $1.20 per hour on 1 April 2019.

The new rates are:
Adult $17.70 per hour
Starting out $14.16 per hour
Training $14.16 per hour

The rate will continue to rise with increases planned for 2020 and 2021 to reach the minimum adult wage of $20.00 per hour.

You and your staff can agree to any wage above the minimum rate. If your employment agreements are a few years old, you can use this as a chance to update them. Please note that it is a legal requirement to have a written employment agreement with all of your staff.  If you do not have one there could be far reaching consequences for your business.

There is a great calculator on the Business.govt website to calculate the cost of an employee, and what the new wages increase may mean for your business.

They have also put together a list of the five key rights and rules for Employment.  Choosing the correct arrangements for each worker is the start of a healthy working relationship. But if you get it wrong, it can hurt your business — not to mention your employees. Labour inspectors have increased powers to check if workers are getting the right pay, leave, and other legal requirements.

Rule 1 – Employment agreement – Every employee must have a written employment agreement.

Rule 2 – Right conditions for each employee type – ie permanent, fixed term or casual.

Rule 3 – Fair pay rates – There are minimum pay rates for workers aged 16 and older. You can pay more, but you can’t pay less.

Rule 4 – Paid time off work – Employees must get at least the legal minimum for paid leave, eg for holidays or when they are sick.

Rule 5 – Working hours – Employers and employees must agree hours of work, and note these in a written employment agreement.

To help employers and employees know what they can and can’t do, Employment New Zealand offers free online courses covering employment basics and minimum rights. This information was bought to you curtesy of Business.govt.nz.

And of course our team are here to help.  Please do contact us for support.