Available for the following plans: Payroll Standard, Payroll Premium
Available for the following User Access levels: Owner, Admin, Manager, Employee
New Zealand employment law requires that piece-rate workers must be paid at least the minimum wage for every hour they work. This feature automates that comparison. For each day in a pay run, Employment Hero Payroll calculates earnings under both the time-rate and piece-rate method and pays whichever is higher.
This article shows you how to manage the following:
- Mark a work type as piece rate
- Set up pay rates for piece-rate work
- Enter timesheets
- Run the pay run
- Frequently asked questions
Mark a work type as piece rate
Important
Make sure the pay category used for piece-rate work is set to a Fixed unit pay category type. The piece rate checkbox can only be applied to work types linked to a Fixed unit pay category.
- Go to Settings Work Types.
- Open the work type used for piece-rate work (e.g. "Bin picking").
- Tick the Apply piece rate checkbox.
- Click Save.
Timesheets using this work type will now be included in the piece-rate vs time-rate comparison in each pay run. You can create multiple piece-rate work types (e.g. one per fruit or product type). All piece-rate timesheets for the same employee on the same day are added together for the comparison.
Set up pay rates for piece-rate work
Before running a pay run, each employee needs a pay rate configured for the piece-rate pay category. The piece-rate amount is not entered on the timesheet. It is read from the employee's pay rates at the time the pay run is processed.
- Go to the employee's profile and open the Pay Rates screen.
- Add a pay rate for the relevant piece-rate pay category (e.g. "Bin picking standard"), entering the rate per unit.
- Click Save.
If you have a team of piece-rate workers on the same rate, the easiest approach is to use Pay Rate Templates.
- Go to Settings Pay Rate Templates and create a template that includes the piece-rate pay category and rate.
- Apply the template to all relevant employees from their Pay Rates screen.
Helpful Hint
If the rate changes (e.g. a new season), update the template and re-apply it to update all employees at once.
Enter timesheets
For each day a piece-rate worker is on site, enter two types of timesheets:
| Timesheet type | Work type to use | What to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Time-worked | Any standard (non-piece-rate) work type | Start and end time |
| Piece-rate | A work type with "Apply piece rate" ticked | Number of units completed |
- If a worker picked multiple product types in one day, enter a separate piece-rate timesheet for each type. The system will total them all before comparing against the time-rate earnings for that day.
- Note: Start and end times are not required for piece-rate timesheets.
- Rates for Piece-rates will need to be added to employee’s pay rates screen. The rate per unit is pulled automatically from the employee's pay rates. It does not need to be entered on the timesheet.
Run the pay run
When you create or recalculate a pay run, Employment Hero Payroll automatically groups each employee's timesheets by day, calculates total earnings under each method, and pays the higher amount.
| Outcome | Time-rate earnings line | Piece-rate earnings line(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Piece rate was higher | Shows $0.00 | Shows full amount |
| Time rate was higher (or equal) | Shows full amount | Shows $0.00 |
Tie-break: If both methods produce the same total, the time-rate (hourly) amount is paid. This ensures the minimum wage guarantee is always met.
An ⓘ info icon appears next to any earnings line that was part of a piece-rate comparison. Click it to see total time-rate earnings for that day, total piece-rate earnings for that day, and which method was higher and was paid.
Earnings lines showing $0.00 (the "losing" method) won’t show the ⓘ icon.
Deleting earnings lines: The delete button is hidden on $0.00 (losing) earnings lines. To remove a comparison, delete the winning earnings line. This will reset all related timesheets back to Approved status so they can be reprocessed.
If Show Line Notes is enabled in your payslip settings, employees will see a plain-English note on their payslip showing which pay method was used and the total under each method. Examples include:
- "Hours worked is higher than piece rate"
- "Piece rate is higher than hours worked"
Lines showing $0.00 do not appear on the employee's payslip. If Show Line Notes is turned off, no comparison notes appear and earnings lines display as normal.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Create a separate work type for each type of piece-rate work and tick "Apply piece rate" on each one. All piece-rate timesheets for the same employee on the same day are totalled together before comparing against time-rate earnings.
If only piece-rate timesheets (or only time-rate timesheets) are submitted for a day, no comparison is made. The submitted timesheets are paid in full as normal.
No. This feature is available for New Zealand businesses only.