Changes to the Minimum Wage
On 1 April 2008, the Minimum Wage (New Entrants) Amendment Act 2007 comes into force. The main provisions are as follows:
- The minimum wage for employees 18 years and over will rise to $12.00 an hour before tax.
- The youth minimum wage is abolished and instead there is introduced the “New Entrants Minimum Wage” which is $9.60 an hour before tax for SOME 16 and 17 year olds.
- The 16 and 17 year olds who are classified as “New Entrant Workers,” and will be paid a minimum of $9.60 per hour before tax, are those employees who have:
- Not worked for more than 3 months or 200 hours, whichever is the shorter; or
- They have not been supervising or training other workers; or
- They are not subject to the minimum training wage ($9.60 per hour).
- The three months or 200 hours includes employment undertaken with more than one employer, that is in other words the period working is cumulative, and includes employment undertaken before 1 April 2008 provided that the employee was at least 16 years old.
- Once a 16 or 17 year old is no longer classified as a New Entrant Worker he or she will be entitled to the minimum adult wage of $12.00 an hour before tax.
- For employees under the age of 16, there is no change and, accordingly, there is no minimum hourly rate.
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