Minimum Wage Increase 2024

The adult minimum wage will increase again this year. With the changes taking effect from Saturday 1 April 2024, the minimum wage will increase by 2% from $22.70 to $23.15 per hour, aligning with the government’s commitment to growing the economy, boosting incomes and supporting job growth throughout New Zealand.

The starting-out and training minimum wage rates will also increase from $18.16 to $18.52 per hour to remain at 80% of the minimum wage.

You will need to ensure that by Thursday 28 March, you have identified which Employees hourly rate (or salary) falls below the new minimum wage and process their increase through your payroll system to take effect from 1 April 2024.

Preparing For The Increase

5 key steps to take:

  1. Check which team members are impacted

  2. Have a conversation with the team members

  3. Adjust pay rates and process by 28 March (just before Easter)

  4. Can utilise an increase form to keep a record of this

  5. Update your operational / wage budget

For more information from Employment New Zealand regarding this change, click here. If you need an increase form or general support, feel free to reach out to our team on 0800 HR FOR U.


Lara Hellier

People Director