New Zealand Employment Updates: RSE to increase wages from April 1, 2024

New Zealand is a land of rich culture and diversity with wealthy opportunities. It provides a high quality of living with low expenses. 

There has been recent growth in many job sectors and opportunities with different minimum wages.

The minimum wage applies to an employee of 16 years and above who works full-time, part-time, or work from home, and on a fixed-term basis. The employee gets paid an hourly wage or salary. 

There are different minimum wages calculated for three categories of employees:

• Adult minimum wage: This applies to employees over 16 years of age.
• Starting-out minimum wage: This applies to employees who are entering the workplace for the first time aged 16 to 19. However, there are specific requirements to be fulfilled in order to apply for this wage rate. 
• Training minimum wage: This wage rate applies to employees who are involved in any relevant industry training aged 20 years and above. Although, there are specific requirements that employees must meet before they are entitled to this wage rate.

What are the changes in the Minimum wage in New Zealand?

The government of New Zealand announced that the increase in the minimum wage will be implemented starting April 1, 2024. Therefore, the wage for all Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) will also increase. 

Currently, the RSE workers are paid a minimum wage of NZD＄24.97 per hour for actual hours worked. However, after the increase in the minimum wage, the RSE workers will get paid an additional 10%, i.e., NZD＄25.47.

If the employer fails to update wages with the new minimum hourly wage would break the commitment to the Agreement to Recruit (ATR).

Whether a worker transfers from one RSE employer to another, the new employment agreement must follow up with minimum pay. 

What are the variations in New Zealand Visas?

The officials of Immigration New Zealand have confirmed the wage change. It will increase with the median wage of NZD 31.61 an hour on February 28, 2024. The changes in the categories of visas are:

• The Skilled Migrant Category visa
• The Green List Straight to Residence visa
• Work to Residence visa
• The Parent Category Residence Class visa

The wage for a Transport Sector Work to Residence Visa will also increase with the new median wage, except the bus drivers.

The wage increase is not applied to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). It will remain at the current rate of NZD 29.66 an hour, which the government already announced in December.

It also applies to the AEWV-linked work visas that are set at the rate of NZD 29.66 from February 2023. The categories of visas include: 

• The Partner of the Worker Work Visa
• Different conditions for AEWVs, legacy Essential Skills work visas, and interim visas granted under the Skilled Migrant Category and Partner of a Worker Work visas
• Migrant Exploitation Protection visa

Migrants who hold an AEWV are getting paid at the remaining current rate of NZD 29.66 but may continue to gain work experience for Skilled Residence. 

However, they will need to have a job offer or a job that meets the skilled residence pathway rate with the median wage at the time they apply.

This pause in the minimum wage increase gives time to make decisions on alternatives to the median wage change to make sure that it attracts the skilled workers needed by New Zealand to fulfill the skill shortages.

Migrants who do not hold AEWV but are planning to apply must consider the eligibility requirements needed to meet the higher threshold of NZD 31.61 an hour instead of the lower one. 

All sector exemptions and agreements to the median wage will remain at the current wage rate until further decisions are taken on the median wage under AEWV.

The termination of tourism and hospitality wage exemption and transport sector agreement has also been delayed.