New entrants and the minimum wage

What is the New Entrants Minimum Wage?

A new entrant is a worker who is 16 or 17 years old except if

they have completed three months or 200 hours of employment, whichever is shorter, OR
they have been supervising or training other workers, OR
they are subject to the training minimum wage.

How much is the New Entrants Minimum Wage Rate?

For the current minimum wage rates, see our fact sheet on Minimum Pay (http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/pay/minimum.html).

How do I know if I have completed three months or 200 hours of employment?

Any employment undertaken before your 16th birthday does not count towards the three months or 200 hours of employment.

The three months or 200 hours includes employment undertaken with different employers. However, if you work for more than one employer during a month, then you will only have completed one month of employment. For example, if you worked for two employers in May 2009, then this only amounts to one month (not two months) of employment.

If you are uncertain about how many hours you have worked, ask your employer. You can also check your pay slips to see if you have worked 200 hours or more.

You can ask your employer to provide you with a written statement about the number of hours or the period over which you have worked. You can obtain a sample statement of service at http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/pay/newentrant.html.

Related factsheets:

Employees – New Entrants and the Minimum Wage http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/factsheets/new-entrants-minimum-wage-employees.html
Employers – New Entrants and the Minimum Wage
http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/factsheets/new-entrants-minimum-wage-employers.html

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This page was last updated on: 25-Mar-2009 and is current.

Further information & guidance

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Call us free on 0800 20 90 20 or visit our website at www.ers.dol.govt.nz.

The content of this document covers common problems. It will not answer every question and should not be used as a substitute for legislation or legal advice.

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