"Total remuneration" package

[BigRed]

Does anyone have any experience with "total remuneration" on kiwisaver?

I have been offered a job in Auckland and we agreed a salary, but when the paperwork came through it says that the employer operates a total remuneration policy, which means they deduct the value of employer contributions to kiwisaver from my salary. Isn't that the same as saying that I pay the employer contribution myself?

As far as I can tell, this means that I would be getting 2% less salary in practical terms and I'm considering asking them to up their salary offer by 2% to compensate. What do you all think?

[Kanga]

Blimey, what field of work are you in? That'll help ppl let you know if it's normal. Sounds cheeky AZ in my opinion though ...

[cappuccino]

My first employer tried that but it is illegal - don't sign the contract with that clause! If in doubt, contact Kiwisaver and get clarification www.kiwisaver.govt.nz

[Bozeman]

Definitely a sleezy move. Not the way remuneration packages are structured.

[BigRed]

My first employer tried that but it is illegal - don't sign the contract with that clause! If in doubt, contact Kiwisaver and get clarification www.kiwisaver.govt.nz

I have been googling and I gather that it is not currently illegal for them to do this, but it has been in the past. I think I will insist that if this clause is in the contract then my salary simply must be higher to compensate for the loss of what I expected to be earning when I agreed the salary.

[BigRed]

Blimey, what field of work are you in?

IT

[ralf-nz]

Despite it being legal and/or legit, have they been open about this or has it been hidden in the dark? Question for me would be in particular be about their attitude in doing this and in responding to your request. Do you want working for an organisation that behaves like that or not?!

[Mamee & Co]

I have an employer who also does this. I believe that they took legal advice about it. My contract firmly states that it is total rem, and if I choose to opt into Kiwisaver then the employer contributions are part of that figure.

It is not a shady move if it is explicitly stated, which yours appears to be. The business reason for it is to aid comparison amongst salaries in an organisation easily, where there may be a choice of kiwisaver, pension plan and other benefits. You have a total package and you can choose how you split it. If Kiwisaver is included for example your base salary will be 100/102 of your total rem.

Hope that this helps.

[James 1077]

My employer tells me what total remuneration is (salary, bonus, benefits, kiwisaver contributions etc) but when it comes to negotiating pay it is only the salary part that is negotiated with me - the rest is a cost to them that they take into account when deciding how much to pay me!

[BigRed]

It is not a shady move if it is explicitly stated, which yours appears to be. The business reason for it is to aid comparison amongst salaries in an organisation easily, where there may be a choice of kiwisaver, pension plan and other benefits. You have a total package and you can choose how you split it. If Kiwisaver is included for example your base salary will be 100/102 of your total rem.

The thing is that it wasn't explicitly stated by anyone. I only discovered it by carefully reading my employment contract before signing.