Wage Supplement Consultation under consideration
14 June 2019.
On 20th February 2019, the Ministry for Social Development and the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment asked for feedback on replacing the Minimum Wage Exemption with a wage-supplement approach.
The consultation process asked for views on the current Minimum Wage Exemption scheme, as well as the proposed alternative, a Wage Supplement.
Feedback was sought from disabled people and their families, Disabled People’s Organisations, unions, employers and employer associations.
Consultation on the Wage Supplement has now closed, and agencies have moved into the stage of reviewing the consultation feedback.
What are the proposed changes?
A wage supplement approach would replace the current Minimum Wage Exemption. This means that employers would be required to pay all staff (including disabled staff) the minimum wage.
MSD would support employers by providing a subsidy, or “wage supplement” that would contribute towards paying eligible disabled staff the minimum wage.
What happens next?
Over the next few months we will be analysing the submissions we received on these changes. This feedback will then be used to inform whether and how a wage supplement approach may be progressed.
Where can I learn more about the proposed changes?
For more information on the proposed changes, you can read the discussion document that was used for the consultation process. It’s available in:
You can also read the Cabinet paper associated with the decision to consult on the proposals here:
