Minimum Rate Application

• The governor general of New Zealand is responsible for setting the minimum wage rate. The rate set applies to all workers over age 16. An employer must pay newly hired workers between the ages of 16 and 17, who have completed either 200 hours of employment or three months of employment (whichever is shorter), a minimum wage that amounts to at least 80 percent of the standard minimum wage. The employment qualification set for new entrants between the ages of 16 and 17 includes employment with other employers, and not just the current employer. The governor general must the minimum wage as a monetary amount, expressed in dollars and cents.
  
  

Deductions

• If an employer provides an employee with board and lodging, as may happen where workers are employed in remote locations, such as mining operations, the employer may deduct an amount from the employee's wages to cover this cost. The employer may not deduct more than the cash value stated in an employment agreement, or if no agreement exists, may not deduct more than 5 percent of the employee's wages for lodging and no more than 15 percent for board. An employer may not deduct anything from an employee's wages to cover time lost if this happens because the employee is ill or suffers an accident.
  
  

Recovery of Wages

• If an employer pays an employee an amount that is less than the minimum wage, the employee is entitled to recover the difference from the employer. An employee also has the right to recover any amount of wages that the employer has failed to pay. Even if the employee agreed to accept payment at a rate lower than the minimum wage rate, the employee still has the right to bring an action for recovery of the difference with the Employment Relations Authority. A labor inspector can bring the action on behalf of the employee, if a labor inspector finds that an employer has paid an employee less than the minimum wage. Labor inspectors work for the Department of Labor and are responsible for ensuring that employers comply with a number of labor laws, including the Minimum Wage Act and the Employment Relations Amendment Act.
  
  

Maximum Hours

• Although the act relates to minimum pay, it also includes provision for setting the maximum hours an employer may ask an employee to work. The act refers to the Employment Relations Act of 2000, which sets the maximum hours set in employment agreements at 40 per week, excluding overtime. However, according to the Minimum Wage Act, employers and employees can set the maximum working hours at more than 40 hours per week if all parties to the employment agreement agree to this. When employees and employers agree to maximum working hours amounting to more than 40 per week, all parties must try to arrange the daily working hours so that employees complete their required hours on no more than five days of the week.