Protecting Wages - complying with the law
Recent law changes have highlighted the need to comply with the Wages Protection Act and it is starting to bite - a Wellington Grocer has had to pay $53,000. $25,000 was a fine for breach of law. The rest was paid to the employee for reimbursement of short-payments and unfair deductions.
The unfair deductions amounted to premiums for providing a job to a migrant.
All employers must take care about what gets deducted from a person's pay. Broadly you can deduct PAYE; anything instructed by law (such as by the Ministry of Justice); and anything specifically authorised by the employee (if reasonable). This includes deductions from final pay.
If in any doubt let us have a look at your practices and agreements and see if you need to get your documents right.