It says that any changes to wages (including wage increases) either need to be included in the employment agreement, or advised to the employee in writing. It is worth noting that it is a legal requirement under the Employment Relations Act that all employees have a current employment contract.

To help growers, HortNZ has worked with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) put together a template for seasonal employees, which can find here.

With the minimum wage increase the industry body suggests that this could be a good time to replace old contracts that may be out of date, or have a number of important clauses missing.

By law, employment contracts must contain the following items:

• The names of the  employee and employer;
• A description of the work to be performed by the employee;
• An indication of where the employee is to perform the work;
• An indication of the times the employee is to work;
• The wages or salary payable to the employee;
• A plain language explanation of the services available for the resolution of employment relationship problems, including a reference to the period of 90 days within which a personal grievance must be raised;
• An employee protection provision requiring an Employer to provide information and consider comments in restructuring situations and include a process that the employer must follow in negotiating with a new employer about the restructuring;
• A provision that confirms the right of the employee to be paid at least time and a half for working on a public holiday.

Source: HortNZ