Minimum wage ripple effect: Extra business costs could fall to customers
7 Apr, 2021 09:00 PM
6 minutes to read
Watchdog Security Group chief executive officer Brett Wilson. Photo / File
The ripple effect of increasing the minimum wage has meant some employees already receiving $20 per hour are now also expecting a pay rise, business leaders say.
Meanwhile, business owners already struggling post-lockdown may have
to reduce hours, cut jobs, and pass extra costs on to clients.
The adult minimum wage increased to $20 from $18.90 per hour on April 1, 2021.
The starting-out and training minimum wage rates have also increased to $16 from $15.12 per hour.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said about 12,300 Bay of Plenty workers were impacted by the minimum wage rise - about 9.7 per cent of the region's employees.