After the government increased the minimum wage rates earlier this year, it made a further amendment to the Minimum Wage Order, issuing a new fortnightly rate. The fortnightly rate is $1,140 for adult employees and $912 for starting-out workers and trainees. If you’re an employer already fully compliant with minimum wage requirements and your employees’ hours don’t vary from week to week, stop reading here. For you, nothing has changed…. Some farmers have had difficulties with minimum wage compliance as farming hours vary considerably over busy periods such as lambing and calving through to quieter periods. Traditionally many have agreed with their employees to average wages out over quiet and busy periods so employees have some certainty about their income.

Some important laws that may affect your business, such as the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) and the Fair Trading Act (FTA), are changing. It’s important that you and your employees understand the changes to avoid penalties, give your customers peace of mind and build trust in your business. Why are these laws changing? Changing consumer laws will help consumers transact with confidence and support honest business practices. This will promote competition, innovation and sustained growth. The law changes aim to:

• make consumer law more accessible and understandable for both consumers and businesses
• simplify business compliance
• strengthen consumers’ rights
• create more effective and enforceable consumer laws
• better align New Zealand and Australian consumer law.