Wages and Record Keeping From 1 April 2021

From 1 April we are making changes to our office systems to ensure you are compliant as an employer. It is imperative for the employer to keep complete and accurate records of wages, time and leave.

This email is important to read if OCA are paying wages on your behalf.

If you pay your own wages, there are two key changes coming up for employees:

1. The adult minimum wage rate will increase to $20.00 per hour from 1 April.
2. The minimum sick leave entitlement will go up to 10 days per year from late 2021 (date to be confirmed).

Where we are processing your wages, the following procedures will be put in place:

• All wages will be processed on payroll software. If your employees need setting up on the software, we will be in touch in March to obtain details.

• Within the software, an accurate record of all annual leave and sick leave for each employee will be maintained.

• Timesheets are compulsory by law. These are to be provided to us by email no later than the day before payday. Example timesheets are available on request.

• We will not directly communicate with any of your employees, and they are not permitted to communicate with us. Any pay queries by employees are to be directed to the employer, who will then contact our office.

We are implementing these changes so that we provide a uniform service to all our clients. It is also essential for us to maintain accurate employee records on your behalf.

More information on this is available by clicking on the following link:

https://www.employment.govt.nz/hours-and-wages/keeping-accurate-records/

There are significant penalties for employers who do not keep adequate records of wages, time worked and leave taken as well as a late filing penalty of $250.

If you are needing to implement any changes in your payroll processing, get in touch today.