Unpaid Wages Checker NZ 2026

Updated  Minimum Wage Act 1983, Holidays Act 2003, Wages Protection Act 1983, and the Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment Act 2025 in force 14 March 2025. Minimum wage rates from 1 April 2026.
Quick answer You worked 160 hours and were paid for 140, so 20.0 hours are unpaid. With holiday and final pay owed, the total shortfall is $1,929.00. Your effective rate across the hours you actually worked is $19.39, which is below the $23.95 adult minimum wage. Since 14 March 2025 an employer who deliberately withholds pay can be charged with theft.

Unpaid wages are a debt, not a grievance, and that distinction is worth knowing before anything else. The 90 day deadline that applies to personal grievances does not apply to wages you were never paid: a claim for arrears can generally reach back six years. The law also changed significantly on 14 March 2025, when the Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment Act made it a criminal offence for an employer to intentionally and without reasonable excuse fail to pay money owed under an employment agreement, the Holidays Act, the Minimum Wage Act or the Wages Protection Act. Where more than $1,000 is involved the maximum penalty is seven years imprisonment. The word intentionally matters: a payroll error, even a large one, is not a crime, and most shortfalls turn out to be exactly that. This tool totals what you are owed, tests your effective rate against the current minimum wage, and sets out where to take it.

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Total you are owed
$1,929.00
wages, holiday pay and deductions
Your effective hourly rate
$19.39
across the hours you worked
Minimum wage position
Below
the $23.95 adult rate

What you are owed

Hours actually worked160
Hours paid140
Unpaid hours20.0 hours
Unpaid hours at your rate$479.00
Minimum wage top-up on hours worked$0.00
Holiday pay owed$1,200.00
Final pay owed$0.00
Unlawful deductions to be refunded$250.00
Total shortfall, gross$1,929.00
Paid in total for the period$3,103.00
Effective rate across hours worked$19.39
Applicable minimum wage$23.95
Above the $1,000 theft threshold?Yes

Where to take it, in order

StepWhat it doesCost
1. Your employer, in writingStates what you are owed and asks for payment by a date. Most shortfalls are genuine errors and stop here.Free
2. Employment New ZealandFree information and can arrange free mediation between you and the employer.Free
3. Labour InspectorateInvestigates minimum wage, holiday pay, deduction and record-keeping breaches. Can act without you attending a hearing.Free
4. Employment Relations AuthorityDetermines wage arrears claims that do not settle, and can order payment plus penalties.Filing fee applies
5. Police, in serious casesSince 14 March 2025 intentional non-payment can be theft under the Crimes Act 1961.Free
Criminal liability requires intention, and that is a high bar. The Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment Act 2025 applies where an employer intentionally and without reasonable excuse fails to pay. A payroll system error, a misunderstanding about holiday pay, or a genuine dispute about hours is not theft, however large the shortfall. The overwhelming majority of cases are recovered as a civil debt through the steps above rather than prosecuted. Do not accuse an employer of a crime on the strength of a calculator; take the figures to the Labour Inspectorate and let them assess it.
These are gross, indicative figures and are not legal advice. Whether particular time counts as work, which minimum wage rate applies to you, and whether a deduction was lawful all depend on your circumstances and your employment agreement. Starting-out and training rates apply only in defined situations and cannot be used simply because someone is new. Keep your own record of hours worked, because in a dispute the absence of employer records generally counts against the employer, not you. If this suggests you are owed wages, raise it with Employment New Zealand on 0800 20 90 20, a community law centre, or an employment lawyer before acting on the figure. Free help exists and there are time limits on recovering unpaid wages.

Unpaid wages are a debt, and debts have a long memory

People frequently miss out because they assume the 90 day personal grievance deadline applies to everything. It does not apply to wages. Money you earned and were never paid is a debt owed to you, and a claim for arrears can generally reach back six years. That matters most for the slow forms of underpayment: a few unpaid minutes at the start of every shift, holiday pay calculated on the wrong basis, a training day that was never paid. None of those feel urgent in the week they happen, and across several years they add up to real money that is still recoverable.

The minimum wage applies to every hour actually worked

This is where the most common underpayment hides. If you are required to be there, you are working: arriving early to set up, staying to cash up, attending training, or being on site during a break you are not free to leave. Paying someone for their rostered hours when they consistently work longer produces an effective rate below the roster rate, and if that effective rate falls under the minimum wage the employer is in breach regardless of what the payslip says. This calculator computes the effective rate across hours genuinely worked for exactly that reason.

What an employer may and may not deduct

Under the Wages Protection Act 1983 an employer needs your written consent for a deduction, given for that deduction, or a legal requirement such as PAYE or child support. Deductions for till shortages, breakages, customers who leave without paying, or uniforms are not permitted without specific written agreement, and even with agreement they must be reasonable. A general clause in an employment agreement saying the employer may deduct whatever it decides is not sufficient. Deductions of that kind are recoverable, which is why they are a separate line here.

Worked example

An employee worked 160 hours over a period but was paid for 140, leaving 20.0 hours unpaid. At their rate of $23.95 those hours are worth $479.00. They are also owed $1,200.00 of holiday pay and had $250.00 deducted for till shortages without written consent.

The total shortfall is $1,929.00. Spread across the hours they actually worked, what they were paid amounts to an effective rate of $19.39 an hour, which is below the $23.95 adult minimum wage even though the payslip showed the correct rate. The amount is also above the $1,000 threshold at which the theft offence carries a maximum of seven years, if the failure to pay was intentional.

How this is calculated

Unpaid hours are the hours worked less the hours paid, floored at zero. Those hours are valued at your stated rate. The minimum wage top-up is the shortfall between what you were actually paid and what the applicable minimum wage would require for the hours genuinely worked, and it is only added where that produces a further amount beyond the unpaid hours themselves, so nothing is counted twice. Holiday pay, final pay and unlawful deductions are added as entered. The effective hourly rate is the total actually paid divided by the hours actually worked, which is the figure that matters for a minimum wage breach. The $1,000 comparison refers to the theft threshold in section 223 of the Crimes Act 1961, above which the maximum penalty is seven years.

Official sources

Related NZ calculators

Important: this is information, not legal advice

This page explains how the law works and estimates figures from what you enter. It cannot tell you what will happen in your situation, because employment outcomes turn on facts, evidence and the wording of your own agreement. Nothing here creates a lawyer and client relationship.

It has not been reviewed by a lawyer. The legal descriptions are drawn from Employment New Zealand, MBIE and Inland Revenue and were checked against those sources on 7 August 2026. They are our reading of published guidance, not a practitioner's opinion, and parts of this area are very new: the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 has been in force only since 21 February 2026 and there is little case law on how it will be applied.

Criminal liability requires intention and is a high bar. Do not accuse an employer of a crime on the strength of a calculator; take the figures to the Labour Inspectorate and let them assess it.

Before you act, get advice. A community law centre is free. Employment New Zealand provides free information and mediation. An employment lawyer will tell you things no calculator can. Time limits are short and unforgiving: a personal grievance must generally be raised within 90 days, so seek advice early rather than waiting for certainty.

Frequently asked questions

Is wage theft a crime in New Zealand?

Yes. Since 14 March 2025, under the Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment Act 2025, an employer who intentionally and without reasonable excuse fails to pay money owed to an employee can be charged with theft under the Crimes Act 1961. Where the amount exceeds $1,000 the maximum penalty is seven years imprisonment. It requires intention, so a genuine payroll error is not a crime.

What is the minimum wage in New Zealand?

From 1 April 2026 the adult minimum wage is $23.95 an hour, and the starting-out and training rates are both $19.16 an hour. The minimum applies to every hour actually worked, so unpaid trial shifts, unpaid training and time spent opening or closing all count.

How long do I have to claim unpaid wages?

A claim for wage arrears can generally reach back six years, which is much longer than the 90 day window for raising a personal grievance. Unpaid wages are a debt rather than a grievance, so the short grievance deadline does not apply to them.

Who do I complain to about unpaid wages?

Start by putting it in writing to your employer, because many cases are genuine errors and are fixed at that point. If that fails, contact Employment New Zealand, which can arrange free mediation. The Labour Inspectorate investigates minimum wage, holiday pay and record-keeping breaches and can act without you going to a hearing. The Employment Relations Authority determines claims that do not settle.

Can my employer deduct money from my wages?

Only with your written consent for that deduction, or where it is required by law such as PAYE and child support. Under the Wages Protection Act 1983 an employer cannot make deductions for till shortages, breakages, customers who leave without paying, or uniforms unless you have specifically agreed in writing, and even then the deduction must be reasonable.