New Zealand Legislation: Acts

14 Meaning of gross earnings

• In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, gross earnings, in relation to an employee for the period during which the earnings are being assessed,—

  • (a) means all payments that the employer is required to pay to the employee under the employee’s employment agreement, including, for example—

    • (i) salary or wages:

    • (ii) allowances:

    • (iii) payment for an annual holiday, a public holiday, an alternative holiday, sick leave, or bereavement leave taken by the employee during the period:

    • (iv) productivity or incentive-based payments (including commission):

    • (v) payments for overtime:

    • (vi) the cash value of any board or lodgings provided by the employer as agreed or determined under section 10:

    • (vii) first week compensation payable by the employer under section 97 of the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001 or former Act; but

  • (b) excludes any payments that the employer is not bound, by the terms of the employee’s employment agreement, to pay the employee, for example—

    • (i) any discretionary payments:

    • (ii) any weekly compensation payable under the Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001 or former Act:

    • (iii) any payment for absence from work while the employee is on volunteers leave within the meaning of the Volunteers Employment Protection Act 1973; and

  • (c) also excludes—

    • (i) any payment to reimburse the employee for any actual costs incurred by the employee related to his or her employment:

    • (ii) any payment of a reasonably assessed amount to reimburse the employee for any costs incurred by the employee related to his or her employment:

    • (iii) any payment of any employer contribution to a superannuation scheme for the benefit of the employee.

  Compare: 1981 No 15 s 4

  Section 14(b)(iii): amended, on 1 April 2004, by section 15 of the Volunteers Employment Protection Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 12).

  Section 14(c)(iii): added (with effect on 17 May 2007), on 19 December 2007, by section 121 of the Taxation (KiwiSaver) Act 2007 (2007 No 110).