Review the actual job and pay arrangement
Build a list of employees, current rates, work duties and the person authorized to approve changes. A warehouse employee at an agricultural supplier should not be treated as a farm worker merely because the business serves farms. Any industry or role-specific exception needs its own review.
Check ordinary hourly rates alongside other relevant pay arrangements. The minimum wage change does not remove overtime, holiday, vacation or payroll deduction obligations. Payroll settings and budgets should preserve those separate calculations rather than folding every employment cost into one hourly number.
Worked example: a covered warehouse shift schedule
Assume an illustrative warehouse employee works 72 ordinary hours in a comparison period, with no overtime or other premiums in this example. At $15.35, gross regular wages are $1,105.20. At $15.70, they are $1,130.40. The increase is $25.20 before other earnings or deductions.
For five employees with the same hours, regular gross wages rise by $126. That is a useful starting point for the wage budget, not the full employer cost. Add any affected vacation amounts, employer contributions and other costs using the actual payroll setup.
Keep the effective date in the time records
Configure the new rate to apply when required for work performed from October 1. Where a pay period crosses the change, retain enough dated time detail to calculate the affected earnings correctly. The deposit date alone is not an adequate record of which rate belongs to each hour.
Have another authorized reviewer compare the first affected payroll with approved time and rates. Check new hires and employees returning from leave as well as regular staff. A stored employee template can retain an old rate even when the main payroll list has been updated.
Update the cash forecast and evidence file
Save the rate approval, payroll change report and source used to verify the new minimum. Add the expected payroll difference to the cash forecast for the busy warehouse period, while retaining separate forecasts for supplier payments and customer collections.
Review WCB coverage using the actual industry and duties rather than assuming every agricultural activity shares the same rules. Keep employee and contractor classifications supported. A short, documented review before October helps the owner resolve exceptions while there is still time to correct the next payroll.
Put this into practice
Sources and current guidance
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