The Minimum Wage (New Entrants) Amendment Act 2007 comes into effect on 1 April 2008 and amends the Minimum Wage Act 1983. The amendments allow a minimum wage rate to be set for workers who are new entrants.

New entrants are workers who are 16 or 17 years of age except those:

• who have completed 3 months or 200 hours of employment, whichever is the shorter, or
• who are supervising or training other workers, or
• who are required under their employment agreements to undergo training for the purpose of becoming qualified for their occupation (i.e. are subject to the minimum training rate).

The amended Minimum Wage Act 1983 allows for the hours worked in multiple jobs to count towards the 200 hours of employment.

By law employers are required to keep wage and time records for all employees (including new entrants). The wage and time records for employees aged under 20 years are required to show the employee's age. If your employee is 16 or 17 years of age and has completed 3 months or 200 hours of employment by 1 April 2008, then they will be entitled to be paid at least the adult minimum wage provided that the minimum training wage does not apply to them.

When assessing whether an employee has completed 3 months or 200 hours of employment, you must include any period of employment or hours worked by the employee before 1 April 2008 provided the employee was 16 or 17 years old at the time of that employment. Any period of employment or hours worked before the employee turned 16 years do not count towards the 3 months or 200 hours of employment.

The 3 months or 200 hours includes employment undertaken with more than one employer. The hours worked for each employer are counted towards an employee's total hours of employment. Consecutive months of employment are also counted towards an employee's total months of employment. However, if an employee works for more than one employer concurrently over 1 month, then this only amounts to 1 month of employment. For example, if an employee works for 2 employers in May 2008, then this only amounts to 1 month (not 2 months) of employment.

Therefore you need to know how many hours the employee has worked with different employers and the periods over which they have worked for these employers. This information will help you determine if the employee has already completed their 200 hours or 3 months or when this will occur. You can ask the employee over what periods and how many hours they have worked since turning 16 and if they are working for another employer when you offer them the job or when you are agreeing a wage rate.

You may wish to provide the employee with a written statement about the period of time the employee has worked for you. Employers can ask for these statements from previous or other employers, with the consent of the employee concerned.

These changes only set the minimum rates of pay. Employers and employees may agree to terms that are more than the legislative minimum. You may not agree to terms that are less.