When your pay is late or short

When you must be paid

Your contract must set a wage period of no more than one month. If it sets none, the wage period is one month.

Employment Act s 18

Pay for work on a rest day or a gazetted public holiday, and for overtime, must be paid no later than the last day of the next wage period.

Employment Act s 19(2)

The Director General can extend the time for payment on your employer's application, if satisfied that paying on time is not reasonably practicable.

Employment Act s 19(3)

Your wages, less lawful deductions, must be paid into an account with a financial institution in your name, or in your name jointly with others as you choose.

Employment Act s 25(1)

What can be deducted

Your employer can lawfully deduct:

• an overpayment of wages your employer made by mistake in the 3 months before the month of the deduction
• the indemnity you owe your employer under section 13(1)
• the recovery of an advance of wages, if no interest is charged on it
• deductions another written law authorises

Employment Act s 24(2)

Payments to a registered trade union or a co-operative thrift and loan society, and for shares in your employer's business, can only be deducted at your written request.

Employment Act s 24(3)

Deductions for things such as a provident or insurance scheme, payments to someone else on your behalf, goods bought from your employer, or accommodation and meals, need your written request and the Director General's prior written permission.

Employment Act s 24(4)

The total deducted in any one month cannot be more than 50% of the wages you earned that month. That limit does not apply to deductions from the indemnity your employer owes you under section 13(1), to amounts you still owe your employer taken from your final pay when your contract ends, or to housing loan repayments, which, with the Director General's prior written permission, can take up to a further 25% of the wages earned.

Employment Act s 24(8), (9)

Making a claim

The Director General's power covers wages or other cash payments due under your contract, under the Employment Act or any subsidiary legislation made under it, and there is no limit on the amount the Director General can order.

Employment Act s 69(1)

An order to pay money carries interest at 8% a year, or a lower rate the Director General directs, from the thirty-first day after the order until it is paid. The Director General can set another start date if the employer applies within 30 days of the order and special circumstances exist.

Employment Act s 69(3A)

The Director General cannot deal with a claim or dispute that is pending in an inquiry or proceeding under the Industrial Relations Act, has been decided by the Minister under section 20(3) of that Act, or has been referred to or is pending before the Industrial Court.

Employment Act s 69A