Calculating the Minimum Wage

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Written By Kim Manunui

Calculating the minimum wage is easy when your employees have regular hours. It’s a little more complicated when your business is seasonal, which is common for many farming businesses. When you have a peak season that requires longer hours than usual, or irregular hours, you need to check you’re fully compliant with the minimum wage requirements.

Even if you pay above minimum wage, you need to check you have systems in place to make sure all workers are receiving at least the minimum wage.

Minimum Wage Rates as of 1 April 2025

  • Adult minimum wage will go up from $23.15 to $23.50 per hour

  • Starting-out and training minimum wage will go up from $18.52 to $18.80 per hour

The table below shows the minimum wage rates per hour, for an 8-hour day, 40-hour week, and an 80-hour fortnight:

 

Averaging Wages

In the past, some employers averaged wages out over busy and quiet times. However, this is no longer permitted. Under the current law, a fortnight is the maximum period wages can be averaged over, and there are conditions that must be met. You cannot average wages over a season or longer periods of time.

Counting Additional Benefits as Wages

If you provide additional benefits to your employees, such as accommodation, the Minimum Wage Act allows you to count some of these benefits as ‘wages’, but not all of them. You can mutually agree in advance that you will deduct an agreed amount from their wages as reimbursement, but this must be in writing to comply with The Wages Protection Act.

Record Keeping Requirements

Legally, you must keep a record for all employees of:

  • Hours worked

  • Wages paid

  • Holiday pay

  • Sick leave

You need to make sure your records are detailed enough to show that you’re compliant with both minimum wage and minimum employment requirements. All agreements with employees about accommodation and other benefits should be documented and kept separate from employment agreements.

Need Help?

If you need help checking that you’re complying with the new minimum wage requirements, give us a call or email info@bfa.co.nz.

We can check your systems to ensure you’re meeting your minimum wage and minimum employment obligations.

Kim Manunui

Hi, I’m Kim and I work with a great team to help individuals, as well as small and not so small businesses get their message, product and services to the world using digital media and creating wonderful websites that don’t cost the earth.

I was born in Canada, and grew up around Vancouver and the mountains of British Columbia. My love of pristine environments led me to New Zealand and eventually to the mountains, lakes and rivers of the central North Island which is home. My family’s heritage is here, and it’s from here that Korio traverses the planet.

The digital world is never static and neither are we.

And I say ‘we’ because I work with an awesome group of talented people who I gather together as required to complete a project.  Whatever your business, not-for-profit or individual needs are we gather the best team to get the job done.

Collaboratively we are creative, share sustainable values and work hard for great outcomes because that’s the buzz of satisfaction that drives us.

If you have an audience and market to reach, we can make that happen. Creative design, words that work and smart behind the scenes stuff that cuts through the online noise. We’ll design your website and then build it. We’ll manage the content as well as all your hosting needs. We can handle your online advertising so you get noticed,
and we’ll manage your social media presence so you get the clicks, likes and engagement to grow your business. All within the budget you set, because none of this needs to cost the earth.  And the job doesn’t stop when your website goes live. We are your virtual business partner.

https://www.korio.co.nz
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