News

Minimum Wage

The Government recently announced an increase in the minimum wage from $13.75 to $14.25 an hour.  The new minimum wage rate came into effect on 1 April 2014.

On a related note, be aware the Government is currently working with the dairy farm sector to ensure all workers on lower salaries get the minimum wage for the hours worked, highlighting the importance of timesheets and wage records.  Their concerns are around the springtime when some low paid staff work longer hours, and therefore the effective hourly rate may be below the minimum wage.   

We are aware that Labour Department inspectors began visiting dairy farms in August 2013 as part of a long-term operation to identify breaches of employment law.  Their focus is on raising awareness of a practice involving seasonal averaging of salaries and the failure to keep accurate time and wage records. For more information about this visit the Dairy NZ website: www.dairynz.co.nz/page/pageid/2145863930/Managing_Staff