Three-quarters of businesses stated that retaining hard-to-replace workers was deemed very important when setting wages and salaries for their employees during the last two years, according to data released by Stats NZ today.
"Retaining hard-to-replace workers, competing for staff, and responding to changes in business conditions were key factors for businesses when determining wages and salaries," business performance manager Ricky Ho said.
| Considerations | Percentage |
| Retaining hard-to-replace workers | 74 |
| Competing with other firms for staff | 45 |
| Changes in business conditions | 44 |
| Changes in government regulations | 34 |
| Volatility of business conditions | 29 |
| Changes in productivity | 26 |
| Changes in product demand | 22 |
| Agreements with unions | 4 |
More flexibility in non-wage conditions
"We asked businesses about how the non-wage conditions for their employees changed over the last two years, and about one-quarter of businesses indicated an increase in employees' choice over hours of work," Ho said.
Meanwhile, more than 1 in 5 businesses reported an increase in employees' choice over location of work. Of the surveyed businesses, those from the financial and insurance services industry have seen the greatest increases in the flexibility of these employment conditions.
More than half of businesses surveyed reported an increase in the sick leave entitlements for the majority of their employees. This follows requirements to increase minimum sick leave entitlement from 5 to 10 days under the Holidays (Increasing Sick Leave) Amendment Act 2021, effective 24 July 2021.
The business operations survey reports on businesses with six or more employees.
Businesses were surveyed from August to November 2022. The survey included questions on business operations, information and communications technology (ICT), price and wage setting, and business finance. Businesses are surveyed on ICT every two years and on price and wage setting and business finance less frequently.
