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.