You must be paid correctly for the time you work, take leave or holidays, and for your final pay. If you are unsure if you are being paid correctly or you think there might be a mistake, follow our steps to check your pay.
Step 1: Checking details and documents
There are a number of items which may be relevant to whether you are being paid correctly which you may want to refer to:
Your employer must keep accurate records and must give you access to your records if you ask them. Some employees choose to keep their own records as well and not just rely on their employer’s records. You can use our spreadsheet for this. Just fill out the sections that are relevant to you. If your hours vary and you think there might be disagreement over what hours you have worked, you can ask your supervisor to sign your records each day or week.
Keeping accurate records for more information.
All employees must have a written employment agreement. Your employment agreement may have specific payments or payment rates which are better than the legal minimum. If you don’t have a copy, your employer must give you one so ask your employer for it. There are some things which your employment agreement must cover (whether you are on an individual employment agreement or a collective agreement).
Things an employment agreement must contain has information on what must be in individual employment agreements.
Collective agreements has information on what must be in collective employment agreements.
You might also want to look at your workplace policies or other agreements you have with your employer as these may form part of your employment agreement. For example, there might be a workplace policy which gives employees an extra five days sick leave each year. Look at your workplace policies or any other material and agreements that might be relevant.
What are workplace policies has more information
Step 2: Getting answers to your questions
For each type of payment look at the typical questions below and see if any of them match the areas you are concerned about.
For some of these questions you can find out the answer yourself (eg in your employment agreement, payslip, bank records etc). To find an answer for some of the questions, you may need to talk to your employer (eg manager, payroll person etc). You can ask a support person or representative to do this with you if you prefer. You can visit our website for more information on how to raise issues with your employer at Informal actions or contact us. You can also ask your union, lawyer or employment advocate to help you or do the analysis for you.
Questions about your pay
What to do
- Check your employment agreement and the minimum wage rates
- Accurately note the hours you work.
- Check you are paid at least the minimum wage rate k.
- If you have piece rates or contract rates, check that your pay including for piecework or contract work, is at least the relevant minimum wage for each hour worked.
Relevant legal or minimum rule
- You must be paid at least the relevant minimum wage for each and every hour worked if you are over 16 years of age.
- If your employment agreement contains a rate that is higher than the relevant minimum wage, then this higher rate must be used.
Where to find information
Example
Sara is 21 and worked 20 ordinary hours in the pay period and received $314.00.
When Sara divides $314 by 20 she realises that she is getting paid $15.70 per hour, the rate in her employment agreement. This was above the minimum wage when Sara signed the agreement, but now it is below the minimum wage and is against the law.
Even though her employment agreement has a lower rate, Sara must be paid the minimum wage (until she receives a pay rise that lifts her pay over the minimum wage).
What to do
- Check your payslip/ wages and time records to see if your pay rate is correctly recorded
- Check your hourly pay for each against the hours you worked to make sure that they match.
- Check that your hours worked has been recorded correctly by your employer and that this figure has been used to calculate your pay.
Relevant legal or minimum rule
Employers must keep accurate records.
Where to find more information
Example
Danielle is paid $20 an hour and is paid $760 for the 38 hours she worked this pay. She divides her pay by the number of hours worked and knows she has been paid correctly.
Mahesh is paid $19.00 an hour and received $693.50 for the 37.5 hours he worked. He divides his pay by 19 and realises he has only been paid for 36.5 hours and that he should have received $%$712.5. He has not been paid correctly for his hours worked because his employer has not kept accurate records. His employer must keep accurate records.
What to do
There are different ways that this may be done. Your employer should be able to tell you how they calculate your hourly rate. Your hourly rate needs to be above the relevant minimum wage rate for your situation. You may also want to check that it delivers you your annual salary in any given year.
Relevant legal or minimum rule
You must still be paid the minimum wage for the hours you work if you are on a salary.
Where to find more information
Example
Some employers take annual salary and divide it by 52, 26, or 12 depending on whether the pay cycle is weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Some employers use alternative methods such as the “Standard 2080” method. This method divides the annual salary by 2080 (40*52) to get an hourly rate.
Eg. Don works 40 hours a week and is paid a salary of $46,163. His employer uses a calculation known as the standard 2080 method. Using this method, Don’s hourly rate is $46,163 /2080 =$22.19 per hour.
This shows that Dan is paid more than the minimum wage. If Don works 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, he will have 260, 261, or 262 working days in any given year.
At $22.19 per hour he will receive $46,155.20, 46,332.72, 46,510.24 per annum respectively.
What to do
- Check your employment agreement to see if you have a special rate for overtime. If your employment agreement doesn’t specify a rate, it is usually paid at your ordinary hourly rate. Note that some employment agreements have terms which cap overtime payments.
- Some employment agreements do not pay extra for overtime if you are on a salary. If this applies to you, you may not get overtime payments, but you still need to be paid at least the equivalent of the minimum wage for all hours worked.
- Check your overtime hours worked against your overtime pay for the pay period.
- Check that your employer has recorded overtime hours correctly and that this has been used to calculate your pay. Your wages and time record should show how many hours overtime you worked each day in the pay period.
Relevant legal or minimum rule
You must be paid at least the minimum wage for all of the time you work including your overtime. Employment agreements may have a different hourly rate for overtime , but this must be at least the minimum wage per hour.
Where to find more information
Minimum wage and Hours of work.
Example
Andrew’s employment agreement states that he will work 40 hours a week and be paid a salary of $41,600 which he works out is about equal to $20 an hour.
Most weeks Andrew only works 40 hours, but over the busy period leading up to Christmas his employer asks him to work late. Andrew is happy to help out, but he ends up working overtime most nights.
Over 2 months Andrew works an average number of hours of 104 hours a fortnight (52 hours a week). Andrew realises that when his extra hours are added in, he is earning less than the minimum wage for the 2 months he works 52 hours a week.
He raises this with his employer who agrees to pay Andrew an additional hourly rate that is at least the minimum wage on top of his salary for all of the overtime he has worked over his contracted hours.
Pay during public holidays
What to do
Check your employment agreement to see if you have penal rates for working on a public holiday. Then check what you were actually paid for working on the public holiday.
Your relevant daily pay is the amount you would usually receive for working. This would usually be the hours you worked multiplied by your hourly rate. It also includes payments such as any incentive payments, allowances, cash value of board or lodgings provided by your employer, you get for working on that day.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
You must be paid at the rate of at least time and a half times your relevant daily pay for time you work on a public holiday. If your employment contract has penal rates for working on a public holiday or for working on a particular day of the week that the public holiday falls on (eg Sunday) then you must be paid the greater amount of your relevant daily pay not including penal rates x time and a half, or your relevant daily pay including penal rates.
Where to find more information
Public holidays and Calculating public alternative sick bereavement payments.
Example
Moana works 4 hours on Labour Day. Her usual hourly rate is $20 per hour. Her employment agreement states that she will be paid double time for working on a public holiday.
Moana checks her pay and sees that she was paid $120 for working 4 hours on Labour Day. She should have been paid the greater of her relevant daily pay multiplied by 1.5 for time and a half (4*$20*1.5=$120), or her penal rate of double time (4*$20*2=$160).
Moana should have been paid $160 for working 4 hours on Labour Day.
What to do
If you haven’t agreed to transfer any part of the public holiday, you should work out how many hours you worked on the public holiday (from midnight to midnight) and how many hours you worked on the normal day. The normal day hours will be paid at the normal rate and the public holiday hours must be paid at the rate of at least time and a half. This means that if you haven’t got penal rates for the public holiday, if you worked 4 hours on the public holiday, you should be paid for 6 (4*1.5) hours.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
You can agree with your employer to transfer part of the public holiday so that your whole shift is on a public holiday. If you haven’t transferred, you get paid for the hours you work on the public holiday at the rate of the greater of the public holiday rate (if your employment agreement has one) and time and a half times your relevant daily pay. You get paid for the hours you work on a non-public holiday at your usual rate.
Where to find more information
Transferring a public holiday by agreement
Example
Maia works a shift from 10pm on December 24 to 6am on December 25. She is paid $20 an hour and doesn’t have any penal rates in her employment agreement.
Maia hasn’t agreed with her employer to transfer any part of the public holiday. Maia checks her pay, and sees that she has been paid 2 hours at her ordinary rate (a total of $40) and 6 hours at time and a half ( at total of $180). This is correct.
What to do
Your relevant daily pay is the amount that you would have been paid if the day hadn’t been a public holiday and you had worked on it. Your average daily pay is your gross earnings for the 52 calendar weeks before the end of the last pay period divided by the number or days (or part days) that you earned the gross earnings (include days you were on paid leave and holidays).
Relevant legal minimum or rule
You only get paid for a public holiday that you don’t work if the day is a day you would otherwise have worked if it wasn’t a public holiday. The amount you get paid is your relevant daily pay (or it can be your average daily pay but only if your daily pay varies in the pay period or it is impossible or impracticable to determine your relevant daily pay).
Where to find more information
Relevant and average daily pay.
Example
Darren receives a regular amount of pay each week. He notices that he has been paid less than usual for the week that includes ANZAC day.
He usually works Wednesday to Sunday and ANZAC Day fell on a Thursday.
Darren must be paid his relevant daily pay for the Thursday because Thursday is a day he would otherwise have worked (if it wasn’t a public holiday) and his daily pay didn’t vary within the pay period where ANZAC Day fell, therefore he can’t be paid average daily pay.
What to do
You should do both calculations then compare them. You must be paid the greater amount. If the amount that you get under your employment agreement is less than time and a half times your relevant daily pay, then it cannot apply (even though you agreed to it in your employment agreement). If you work on a public holiday you must be paid the greater of either the public holiday rate in your employment agreement or time and a half of your relevant daily pay, for the actual hours you worked.
Relevant legal or minimum rule
If you work on a public holiday you must be paid the greater amount of the public holiday rate in your employment agreement or time and a half times your relevant daily pay, for the actual hours you worked.
Where to find more information
Pay for public holidays, sick and bereavement leave and alternative holidays.
Example
Carolyn’s hourly rate is $20. She works 8 hours a day and doesn’t receive any allowances or overtime.
She has a public holiday rate in her employment agreement that states she will be paid $28 for every hour she works on a public holiday.
Carolyn realises that in her situation determining her relevant daily pay rate for the hours she works equals her hourly rate. She works out that time and a half times her usual hourly rate is $30 per hour, this is greater than her employment agreement rate of $28 so
Carolyn must be paid at the rate of time and a half times her relevant daily pay for the hours she works on the public holiday.
What to do
You can check each calculation to make sure that you have been paid the right amount. Any changes that have happened in the last 12 months such as changing your hours, payment rates, incentive payments etc can increase the difference between the amount payable for each holiday type
Relevant legal minimum or rule
The payment calculation is different for each of the 2 types of holiday. Unworked public holidays, sick and bereavement leave, and alternative holidays are paid at relevant daily pay or average daily pay (if applicable). Annual holidays are paid at the greater of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings
Where to find more information
Pay for public holidays, sick and bereavement leave and alternative holidays and Calculating annual holiday payments.
Example
Troy reduced his days from 5 to 4 days a week (his hours reduced from 40 to 32) half way through a year, but his hourly pay rate stayed the same at $20.
If he then took one days’ annual leave immediately after that year, his average weekly earnings would be higher ($720) than his ordinary weekly pay ($640), so he would be paid $180 ($720/4 days) for the annual holiday.
However, if he took a days’ sick leave, he would be paid his relevant daily pay, 8 x $20 = $160.
Pay on annual holidays
What to do
Check your annual holiday balance to make sure that you get 4 weeks annual holidays each year (after you have worked for your employer for 12 months). What a week is for you will depend on your work pattern. You should also check that the right amount of holidays is deducted from your balance when you take annual holidays. If you are not sure of how your annual holidays entitlement is equal to 4 of your working weeks each year, (especially if your annual holidays balance is shown in days or hours) you should ask your employer to show you.
If you have agreed to receive annual holidays on a pay-as-you-go (‘PAYG’) basis, you will not get 4 weeks annual holidays but you should check that you meet the criteria for receiving annual holidays on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
You must get at least 4 weeks annual holidays each year, once you have worked for your employer continuously for 12 months.
You get paid at the rate of the greater amount of your ordinary weekly pay, or average weekly earnings for the 12 months just before the end of the last pay period before the holiday.
Your ordinary weekly pay is the amount you get under your employment agreement for an ordinary working week. If this can’t be worked out (eg each week is different for you), then a formula is used. The formula is Ordinary weekly pay = your gross earnings for the four calendar weeks before the end of the pay period immediately before the calculation is made (minus any payments not included in gross earning) divided by four.
You can only receive PAYG holiday pay if you are on a fixed term agreement of less than 12 months, or if your work is so intermittent or irregular that is impracticable to provide 4 weeks annual holidays.
PAYG holiday pay is at least 8% of your gross earnings, and needs to be paid in addition to your usual pay, and shown as a separate and identifiable component on your pay slip (or leave records).
Where to find more information
Annual holidays and Pay as you go.
Example
Vikram works a fixed work pattern of 6 days on, 2 days off; 7 days on, 3 days off. His employment agreement states he gets 4 weeks’ annual holidays every 12 months.
Vikram has been working for his employer for 15 months and wants to take a holiday. He asks his employer if he can take his next period of 6 days off. His employer tells him that he gets 4 weeks a year and that this is 20 days so he will have 14 days left if he takes the 6 days.
Vikram is confused by this as it doesn’t seem right given that his working week is not a standard 5 days on 2 days off situation. He goes to his employer and they talk about it and agree that Vikram will have one week deducted from his 4 weeks’ annual holidays entitlement for this annual holiday because at the time he takes the holidays, 6 days is effectively his working week.
What to do
Check that you qualify for getting paid your annual holidays on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Check that you have agreed to this in your employment agreement.
Have a look at your pay records and check that you are being paid pay-as-you-go annual holidays at 8% of your gross earnings for each pay. Your gross earnings is usually the total amount you have been paid for the pay period (before lawful deductions are made such as PAYE tax, child support, student loan, kiwi saver etc). It includes payments such as overtime payments, payment for leave and holidays taken, allowances, and performance payments. It doesn’t include eg reimbursement payments, payments for annual holidays that have been paid out, or discretionary payments. Your 8% must be in addition to your normal pay, and must be an identifiable component of your pay so you can’t just be paid a set inclusive amount.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
In some specific situations you may agree to be paid annual holidays on a pay-as-you-go basis. This is only if you have agreed to it in your employment agreement, and you are on a genuine fixed term of less than 12 months, or you work so intermittently or irregularly that it is impracticable for your employer to give you four weeks’ annual holidays.
If you are paid in this way, you must be paid at least 8% of your gross earnings in each pay and it must show as an additional and identifiable component of your pay. This means you should be able to clearly see it in your pay records. Your stated pay rate must be at least the minimum wage and can’t be inclusive of the 8% payment (the 8% must be paid in addition to the minimum wage).
Where to find more information
Pay as you go and Gross earnings.
Example
Jayden started working for his employer on an ‘as required’ basis 18 months ago. After 6 months working occasionally, his hours increased to fulltime. His employment agreement was not updated. Because when he started, Jayden only worked occasionally, he agreed in his employment agreement to be paid annual holiday pay on an 8% pay-as-you-go basis. Now that he is full time, he wishes he could have time off like the other full time employees.
Jayden is entitled to 4 weeks’ annual holidays each year starting from 12 months after he had worked for his employer continuously. His employer can’t deduct the 8% payment that Jayden has already received.
Tayla is on a fixed term employment agreement of 10 months to cover for an employee on parental leave. She agreed to be paid 8% holiday pay on a pay-as-you-go basis in her employment agreement. Tayla’s pay varies each week so the amount that the 8% of her gross earnings equals, varies depending on how many hours she works.
What to do
Work out your ordinary weekly pay (calculate it by using the ordinary weekly formula if it is not possible to work out your ordinary weekly pay)
Work out your average weekly earnings. When you have done this, you will need to check that you are being paid the greater amount of ordinary weekly pay or average weekly earnings (1/52 of your gross earnings for the 12 months immediately before the end of the last pay period before you went on holiday).
Determine what proportion of a week, one day is equivalent to. Eg, if you work a standard 5 day week, one day = 1/5 of a week.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
You get paid at the rate of the greater amount of your ordinary weekly pay, or average weekly earnings multiplied by the proportion of a week that one day is equivalent to.
Where to find more information
Calculating annual holiday payments
Example
Emma currently works 4 x 8 hour days a week. Her Ordinary Weekly Pay (OWP) is greater than her Average Weekly Earnings as she increased her hours a couple of months ago. If Emma takes one day annual holidays, this is equivalent to ¼ of a week, so her pay is OWP x ¼.
What to do
You can check that the correct items have been included in your holiday pay calculations by doing the calculations yourself but it may be easier to ask your employer which items have been included.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
Payment for annual holidays is at the rate of the greater figure of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings. Payment for leave is either relevant daily pay or average daily pay.
Average weekly earnings, the four week formula for ordinary weekly pay and average daily pay are all based on gross earnings and so will include most allowances, commission and non-discretionary bonuses. Ordinary weekly pay and relevant daily pay include overtime, most allowances and may also include commission and non-discretionary payments.
Where to go for more information
Calculating annual holiday payments and Gross earnings.
Example
Hone has been regularly working at least 10 hours paid overtime a week over the last couple of months during a busy period. The actual number of hours he has worked has varied so Hone’s employer uses the four week formula for ordinary weekly pay.
This means Hone’s ordinary weekly pay will be higher than usual because the regular overtime payments will be included in the calculation.
What to do
There can be a couple of reasons why this can happen.
- Your work pattern may have changed since the last time you took annual holidays eg you have reduced the number of hours or days you work each week.
- You may be earning less than the last time you took annual holidays (eg not doing as much overtime)
- Your work pattern may mean you work different hours on different days so the amount you are paid for a particular day might be different
- You may have become entitled to the annual holidays during, or in the 12 months after, you took a period of parental leave.
If you are not in one of these situations, you should ask your employer to clarify why your pay rate for annual holidays has gone down.
If you are in one of these situations, you can still check that the calculations are being done at the time you went on annual holidays and that the amount is right and based on the greater of your ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
The annual holidays calculation is the greater of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings.
Where to find more information
Calculating annual holiday payments
What to do
Your ordinary weekly pay may be the same as your workmate but their average weekly earnings might be greater if eg they had worked more public holidays this year than you, or if their hours used to be higher.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
The annual holiday paycalculation is the greater of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings.
Where to find more information
Calculating annual holiday payments
Example
Jane and Sarah both work 20 hours a week and earn the same amount per hour and their ordinary weekly pay is the same. Sarah used to work 30 hours a week up until two months ago.
Jane’s holiday pay is based on her ordinary weekly pay (because this is equal to or higher than her average weekly earnings).
Sarah’s will be based on her average weekly earnings which will be higher than her ordinary weekly pay because she used to earn more each week.
What to do
Your annual holiday pay calculation is based on what you are working at the time you go on holiday. You will still get at least four weeks a year, but depending on your current and new work pattern, each week may have less days so the amount of money you get for your four weeks annual holidays and maybe the number of days you have off, are likely to be less.
If you are worried about this you should take any annual holidays you are already entitled to before you reduce your hours.
Where to find more information
Calculating annual holiday payments
Example
Piripi is moving from working 5 x 8 hour days a week to working 4 x 8 hour days a week so he can help out at his children’s school. He has an annual holidays’ balance of 5 weeks because he has just reached his anniversary for annual holidays.
He realises that if he waits until he is part time to take his annual holidays, each week of holiday will equal 4 days paid holidays off instead of 5. Piripi decides not to move to part-time work until after the Christmas holiday break and use up his remaining annual holidays’ entitlement.
When Piripi tells his employer Sophie what he wants to do, Sophie thinks about it and decides that because Piripi is such a good employee she will help him out.
Sophie decides that if Piripi wants to keep one week’s holiday in reserve to use later, she will add an additional day onto his holidays balance (even though she doesn’t have to).
Pay during sick leave
What to do
If you are not sure if you were paid relevant daily pay or average daily pay and can’t work it out from your pay records, you should ask your employer.
If you are being paid average daily pay and you don’t think that your work and pay pattern fit the criteria for average daily pay you should ask your employer why this is being used.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
Most employees get paid their relevant daily pay. This is the pay you would have been paid if you had worked on the day (including any overtime, or productivity/ incentive based payments you would have got if you had worked on that day, and the cash value of board and lodgings provided to you).
Some employees may be paid average daily pay instead of relevant daily pay, but they can only be paid average daily pay if it isn’t possible or practical to determine their relevant daily pay or if their daily pay varies in the pay period. Average daily pay is your gross earnings for the 52 weeks before the end of the last pay period divided by the number of whole or part days you earnt the gross earnings.
Where to find more information
Pay for public holidays, sick and bereavement leave and alternative holidays.
Example
Pedro worked 4 days a week for 3 months, working 6-8 hours a day. Then for the last 3 months he moved to working 5x8 hour days each week.
Pedro takes a day’s sick leave and can’t work out why he has been paid less than he usually gets paid. He asks his employer who says that Pedro gets paid on the basis of average daily pay because his pay varies. Pedro points out that although his pay varied when he first started work, his daily pay hasn’t varied for the last 3 months.
His employer realises that she should have considered this when Pedro changed his work pattern and that Pedro should be paid on the basis of relevant daily pay not average daily pay because his relevant daily pay is not impossible or impracticable to calculate and his daily pay doesn’t vary in the pay period.
What to do
If your payslip shows you have unpaid sick leave, this might be because eg:
- you haven’t got an entitlement to sick leave (because you haven’t worked for your employer for 6 months and/ or met the hours work test)
- you have used up all of your entitlement
- your employer required you to provide a medical certificate and you haven’t done this yet.
You can check this by working out if you are entitled yet or asking your employer to show you the dates you have taken your entitlement.
If your payslip doesn’t show unpaid sick leave but you weren’t paid, this might be because your employer didn’t think that the day you were sick was a day you would otherwise have worked. If you disagree with this, you can both use our otherwise working day calculator to check and discuss it with your employer if you still disagree.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
You are entitled to paid sick leave if you or someone who depends on you is sick or injured, when:
- you have completed 6 months’ current continuous employment with your employer, or
- over a period of 6 months you have worked for your employer for an average of at least 10 hours a week, including at least 1 hour each week, or 40 hours every month. (The ‘work test’)
You can only take sick leave if the day is a day you would otherwise have been working and if you (or the person depending on you) was sick or injured.
Where to find more information
Sick leave entitlements and Pay for public holidays, sick and bereavement leave and alternative holidays.
Pay during bereavement leave
What to do
If you are entitled to bereavement leave then you should check whether you have been paid relevant daily pay or average daily pay for the day. If you have been paid average daily pay you should check that you meet the criteria for this.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
You must be paid at least your relevant daily pay (or in some specific situations you may be paid your average daily pay) for each day you take bereavement leave.
Where to find more information
Pay for public holidays, sick and bereavement leave and alternative holidays
What to do
You might not be paid for taking bereavement leave because:
-
you haven’t got an entitlement to bereavement leave (because you haven’t worked for your employer for 6 months and/or haven’t met the work test)
-
your entitlement (either 1 or 3 days, depending on your relationship with the deceased) doesn’t cover all the days of leave that you took
-
your employer doesn’t accept that you have suffered a bereavement (when the deceased is not a close enough member of your family for you to qualify for 3 days)
Relevant legal minimum or rule
You are entitled to paid bereavement leave if you have suffered a bereavement, when:
- you have completed 6 months’ current continuous employment with your employer, or
- over a period of 6 months you have worked for your employer for an average of at least 10 hours a week, including at least 1 hour each week or 40 hours every month during (the ‘work test’).
Where to find more information
Bereavement leave and Pay for public holidays, sick and bereavement leave and alternative holidays
Allowances
What to do
You don’t get allowances from legislation, only through your employment agreement, so read through your employment agreement and see if there are any allowances provided. If there are, carefully read what they relate to and whether that situation applies to you. You might also want to look at your workplace policies or other agreements you have with your employer as these may form part of your employment agreement.
Most allowances are taxable but some (generally reimbursement allowances) are not taxable.
If you receive allowances, remember to consider these when you are looking at all payment calculations for leave and holidays.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
You are not entitled to allowances unless these are in your employment agreement (or they may be in workplace policies).
Where to find more information
Benefits and allowances and Things an agreement must contain.
Pay deductions
What to do
You will always have at least one deduction made from your gross pay. This is for PAYE income tax. Every employee must have PAYE income tax deducted and paid to Inland Revenue.
You may have other deductions that your employer must make by law eg student loan repayments, child support payments, court-ordered deductions.
There may be other deductions that you have agreed that your employer can make eg union fees. You can remove or change your consent to these types of deductions at any time.
It is always illegal for you to be charged a premium for your job (ie you can’t buy a job), this includes by deduction, making you pay your own wages, tax etc.
Relevant legal minimum or rule
- You will always have at least one deduction made from your gross pay. This is for PAYE income tax. Every employee must have PAYE income tax deducted and paid to Inland Revenue.
- You may have other deductions that your employer must make by law eg student loan repayments, child support payments, court-ordered deductions.
- There may be other deductions that you have agreed that your employer can make eg union fees. You can remove or change your consent to these types of deductions at any time.
- It is always illegal for you to be charged a premium for your job (ie you can’t buy a job), this includes by deduction, making you pay your own wages, tax etc.
Where to find more information
Example
Ben has a general deductions clause in his employment agreement. This states that he agrees that any loss or damage to property that he is provided with as part of his job with will be deducted from his final wages.
When his final pay is determined, his employer must consult Ben on the specific amount that she plans to deduct.
Step 3: What to do if there might be a problem
If you do think a mistake or miscalculation has been made you should approach your employer to discuss this. You should approach discussions with your employer with an open mind, they may have simply made a mistake rather than be trying to underpay you. You can take a support person or representative with you. For more information on raising issues with your employer see Talking to your employer.
Step 4: Taking it further - Options
See Escalating unresolved problems.
Seek help
If after discussing with your employer you are still confused or think a mistake or error has been made, you can:
- Contact us for information (including Employment Mediation Services).
- Talk to your union
- Talk to your legal representative.