Working for Accommodation & Pay in New Zealand: What Are Your Rights?

Do You Need a Visa to Work for Accommodation-Provided Jobs in New Zealand?

To work for payment and/or accommodation in New Zealand you will need a valid work visa. The most common visa people get while travelling in New Zealand is a Working Holiday Visa. However, any other work visa is usually valid too. The work conditions, i.e. how long you can work in New Zealand, whether you can accept a permanent or fixed-term job, etc., are made very clear when you receive your visa.

For more information on the Working Holiday Visa, see The New Zealand Working Holiday Visa: Everything You Need to Know!

Can You Work for Accommodation on a Visitor Visa?

If you are in New Zealand on a Visitor Visa or the NZeTA, you cannot legally work for payment and/or accommodation. See Visitor Visa: Do You Need a Visa to Visit New Zealand? and A Complete Guide to the New Zealand eTA & Visitor Levy (NZeTA & IVL) for more details.

If you’re just looking to work solely in exchange for accommodation, be sure to check out our guide to Working for Accommodation in New Zealand: What are Your Rights?

What are Your Rights to Working for Accommodation and Pay?

New Zealand employment laws establish a few minimum employment rights for workers, which include employees who receive both accommodation and a wage.

The Choice of Accommodation and Pay or Pay Only

Before you start working with your employer, you must be offered a choice of either working for a wage with accommodation costs deducted or a full wage that is at least minimum wage. Under the New Zealand Minimum Wage Act 1983, you are entitled to a full wage with only a 5% deduction for lodging for your labour, unless you and your host have both agreed on a fair contract. See more about that in the section below.

For more about wage deductions for accommodation and food, take a look at Working for Accommodation & Food in New Zealand: What are Your Rights?

Deducting Accommodation Costs from Pay

The value of the accommodation should not be lower than the value of your work at the minimum wage. The current minimum wage in New Zealand on the Employment New Zealand website run by the New Zealand Government. Therefore, if you work for accommodation for two hours per day at minimum wage, your reward (in this case, your accommodation) must be of a minimum value of “minimum wage x 2” for accommodation.

Employment Trial Periods

Employers in New Zealand can voluntarily give employees a trial period of up to 90 days, only if it has been agreed in writing in the Employment Agreement (see the section below about employment agreements).

If you are dismissed during this period you cannot raise a personal grievance (official complaint) on the grounds that you think the dismissal was unjustified. You can, however, raise a personal grievance on other grounds, such as discrimination, harassment or unjustified action by the employer.

Minimum Wage in New Zealand

The minimum wage in New Zealand is reviewed every year, and you can view the current minimum wage on the New Zealand Employment website run by the New Zealand Government. This is the minimum pay before tax.

The minimum wage also applies to piece rates which is the money paid to an employee per fruit picked or garments produced, for example. Even if you are paid by the piece, you should still not get paid less than the minimum wage. Learn more about piece rates in the context of fruit picking in our guide to the Apple Picking Season in New Zealand.

Rest and Meal Breaks at Work

You are entitled to rest and meal breaks on which you can rest and take care of personal matters. There are no specific rules about the length and time of breaks. The common practice in New Zealand is a 30-minute unpaid meal break and 10-15-minute paid rest breaks after every four hours worked, for example. These rest and meal break duration and frequency should be outlined in your Employment Agreement.

Holidays: Getting Paid When Taking Time Off Work

You get holiday pay of 8% of your gross earnings at the end of your employment, minus any holiday pay you received during your employment.

A similar deal is given to those on a fixed-term agreement (i.e. seasonal work, such as working for just the winter season, or picking season, for example) and for irregular and intermittent work, where it may be agreed to add 8% holiday pay to the gross weekly earnings.

Public Holidays

You are entitled to the relevant or average daily pay on a public holiday if you would usually be working on that day. Some jobs will require you to work on a public holiday, in which case you should be paid at least time-and-a-half (1.5 times your hourly rate) for the time worked that day.

Sick Leave in New Zealand

Five days of sick pay is entitled only after six months of working for one employer. You will get paid the relevant or average daily pay for sick leave.

For a more in-depth look into these rights, especially for those on a working holiday, see our guide, New Zealand Working Holiday Employment Rights.

Do You Need a Contract to Work for Accommodation and Pay?

For any paid work in New Zealand, there must be an Employment Agreement. That way, you know what you are getting yourself in for and reduce the risk of misunderstandings.

A number of minimum conditions will be outlined in the agreement, but even if they are not outlined, some conditions must still be met. These conditions are discussed in this article and in-depth on the Employment New Zealand website. Employers must keep a copy of the agreement to which you are entitled to get copies on request.

Accommodation and Work Contract

When accommodation is provided with the work, there must be a dedicated Accommodation Agreement. This must be separate from the Employment Agreement or able to be separated. Relevant agreements must be either a Tenancy Agreement (when your employer is the landlord of the accommodation) or an Accommodation Agreement (when staying in a property like a motel, for instance). When referring to accommodation, the contract will likely say “lodging”. Lodging is another word for “accommodation”.

The contract must display that you have the option to either work for lodging and pay or be paid a stated wage. The contract must also state how many average hours you will be expected to work. For example, your work for accommodation contract could include a section like this:

The first two hours of work each day are to be compensated by: (Check your chosen option)

• Lodging: Private room (valued at NZ$…) or an
• Hourly Wage of NZ$…
  

Finally, accommodation must meet healthy home standards, for instance, regarding insulation. Find out more on the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment website.

Do You Need to Pay Taxes When Doing Accommodation-Included Jobs?

When you are proposed a wage in New Zealand, keep in mind that the wage is usually before deductions, such as income tax. The tax deduction is known as PAYE (Pay As You Earn). How much you earn determines how much is deducted. You can find out more about that in our guide to the New Zealand Work Tax System. The value of your accommodation will also be included in the PAYE tax. Find out more on the IRD’s Tax Implications for Working for Accommodation page.

Fill out the Tax Code Declaration (IR330) form given to you by your employer to make sure the correct tax deductions are made. You will need an IRD number for this (find out how to get an IRD Number in our guide, What is an IRD Number?)

A small portion of this deduction is the ACC (Accident Compensation Corporation) levy, which is an insurance system covering the costs if you are injured and off work for an extended period. You can learn more about what healthcare you are entitled to in New Zealand in A Traveller’s Guide to Healthcare in New Zealand.

The PAYE tax is required by law so the employer does not need your consent for these deductions, however, your written consent is needed for any other deductions made to your wage.