Unpaid wages calculator: what your employer owes you
Wages owed are the hours you worked at the rate you were owed, less what you were actually paid, for every day of the period. The rate owed is never below the minimum wage at the time. Working 32 hours a week but paid for 30 at $21 an hour, for the year to 30 September 2026, comes to $7,276.92 before tax, with 8% holiday pay.
Worked out for the example. Change the boxes to make it yours.
$21.00 an hour is below the adult minimum wage for some or all of this period. Paying less than the minimum wage breaks the Minimum Wage Act 1983, and a Labour Inspector can act on it.
| Period | 1 Oct 2025 to 30 Sep 2026, 365 days (52.1 weeks) |
|---|---|
| Owed for 32 hours a week | $39,587.89 |
| Paid for 30 hours a week at $21.00 | -$32,850.00 |
| Wages owed | $6,737.89 |
| 1 Oct 2025 to 31 Mar 2026 at $23.50 an hour | $3,172.00 |
| 1 Apr 2026 to 30 Sep 2026 at $23.95 an hour | $3,565.89 |
| Holiday pay, 8% of the wages owed | $539.03 |
| Total owed, before tax | $7,276.92 |
- The rate owed each day is the higher of the rate in your agreement and the minimum wage in force that day. Your hours a week are spread evenly over the seven days, so a week across 1 April is split at the change.
- The calculator does not set a day you were paid more than owed against another day's shortfall.
- Holiday pay paid with each pay must be at least 8% of gross earnings, and wages owed are gross earnings.
- The Employment Relations Authority may add interest on money it orders paid. It is not included.
- Back pay is taxed as a lump sum, and KiwiSaver comes off it too.
Free on every plan. Your account adds this job to Your Timesheets at the hourly rate you are owed, after asking, so the hours you work from today are on a dated record of your own, with every change kept.
What counts as wages owed
Wages owed, or arrears, are the difference between what you should have been paid and what you were paid. They come from hours worked but not paid, such as training, setting up or staying late, and from a rate below what your agreement or the law requires. Under section 131 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 you can recover them in the Employment Relations Authority, even if you accepted the lower pay at the time or agreed to something else. The minimum wage is a floor whatever the agreement says (Minimum Wage Act 1983, s 6): it was $23.50 an hour for adults from 1 April 2025 and is $23.95 from 1 April 2026, so the calculator uses the rate in force on each day. Our article on getting unpaid wages back covers the routes in full.
How the calculator works it out
For each day of the period it takes a seventh of the hours you worked a week at the rate owed that day, and a seventh of the hours paid at the rate paid, and adds up the gap. In the example, 32 hours worked and 30 paid at $21 is $122 a week short at $23.50, from 1 October 2025 to 31 March 2026, and $136.40 a week at $23.95 from 1 April 2026: $6,737.89 for the year. The calculator does not set a day you were paid more than owed against another day's shortfall. If your hours changed a lot, work out each stretch separately and add them up.
Holiday pay on the arrears
If your holiday pay is paid as 8% with each pay, it must be at least 8% of your gross earnings (Holidays Act 2003, s 28), and wages owed are gross earnings, so 8% of the arrears is owed too: $539.03 in the example. If you take annual leave as time off, short wages also lower your average weekly earnings, so leave you took may have been underpaid as well; the calculator does not work that out. Our 8% holiday pay checker tests a single payslip.
The 6-year limit, interest and tax
A claim that is not a personal grievance must be started within 6 years of the date the cause of action arose (s 142), so any days more than 6 years before today are shown apart and left out of the total. The Authority may also order interest on money it awards, worked out under the Interest on Money Claims Act 2016 (Schedule 2, clause 11); it is not included here. Back pay is taxed as a lump sum when it is paid, and KiwiSaver comes off it. Your employer must let you see your wages and time record, and our records request template asks for it.
Questions
How do I calculate unpaid wages in NZ?
Multiply the hours you worked by the rate you were owed, never less than the minimum wage at the time, and take off what you were actually paid. Add 8% if your holiday pay is paid with each pay. The calculator does this day by day across the period.
How far back can I claim unpaid wages?
Six years. Under section 142 of the Employment Relations Act 2000, a claim that is not a personal grievance must be started within 6 years of the date the cause of action arose, which for wages is when they fell due.
Can my employer pay me less if I agreed to it?
Not below the minimum wage or the rate in your agreement. Section 131 lets you recover the arrears even if you accepted the lower payment or agreed to something else.
Do I get interest on unpaid wages?
The Employment Relations Authority may order interest on money it awards, calculated under the Interest on Money Claims Act 2016. It is up to the Authority, so the calculator leaves it out.
What was the minimum wage in 2025?
The adult minimum wage was $23.50 an hour from 1 April 2025 and rose to $23.95 from 1 April 2026. The starting-out and training rates were $18.80 and are now $19.16.
What happens when I save this?
Your account adds the job to Your Timesheets at the hourly rate you are owed now, after asking, so the hours you work from today are on a dated record of your own, with every change kept. It is free on every plan.
Sources
- Employment New Zealand: minimum wage rates and types.
- Employment New Zealand: previous minimum wage rates.
- Employment Relations Act 2000, ss 131 and 142 and Schedule 2.
- Holidays Act 2003, s 28.
- Inland Revenue: lump sum payments.
- Minimum Wage Act 1983, s 6.
More free tools: see all the calculators.