Minimum wage rises by $1.10 on 1 April 2021

The minimum wage is going up from $18.90 to $20.00 an hour on 1 April 2021.
Here’s what you need to do.

When: 1 April 2021

What: The new minimum wage rates, before tax, are:

Adult – $20.00 an hour (up from $18.90)
Starting-out – $16.00 per hour (up from $15.12)
Training – $16.00 per hour (up from $15.12)

Why: By law, the government must review the minimum wage rates every year.

What you’ll need to do:

• If you do have staff on minimum wage, send them a letter or email to let them know about the increase.
• If any workers are on starting-out or training wages, now is a good time to check when they’ll be eligible to move to the adult rate.
• If you pay staff minimum wages, recalculate your budget for the rest of the year, as you’ll be paying out more in wages. To work out the updated cost of your employees, use the Employee cost calculator.
• Check that any affected employment contracts are updated.
• Talk to whoever runs your payroll system to make sure they’re ready for the changes.
• If your payroll and employment agreements are a few years old, you can use this as a chance to update them using our free and easy tool, Employment Agreement Builder. Note that it is a legal requirement to have a written employment agreement with all your staff.

If you need help, please feel free to contact us.