Everyone
Alternative holidays
An alternative holiday (sometimes called a ‘day in lieu’) is a day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that falls on a normal working day for them.
What employees are entitled to
Employees are entitled to an An alternative holiday is a day where someone can take a paid day off from work to make up for working on a public holiday, when that public holiday fell on a day they would usually work.
- work on a public holiday that would otherwise be a working day for them (an ‘
otherwise working day ’)An otherwise working day is a day that an employee would have worked had the day not been a public holiday, sick leave, bereavement leave, family violence leave or alternative holiday for that employee.
- are on-call on a
public holiday that is otherwise a working day for them, and they have to limit their activities on the day to the extent that they have not enjoyed a full holiday.Employees are entitled to 12 paid public holidays every year if they fall on days that the employee would otherwise be working. If a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday and this is not an otherwise working day for the employee, the public holiday is moved to the following Monday (or Tuesday if 25 or 26 December or 1 or 2 January fall on a Sunday) for that employee.
Regardless of how many hours they were at work or on call over the public holiday, they get a full day off for their alternative holiday.
Anna normally works 8 hours every Monday, but on a public holiday, which fell on a Monday, she only worked for 2 hours.
She is paid for the 2 hours worked at the rate of at least time and a half, and also gets an alternative holiday, on full pay. This means that if she takes the alternative holiday on a day she would otherwise have worked 8 hours, she will be paid for the full 8 hours.
When employees are not entitled to an alternative holiday
Employees are not entitled to an alternative holiday if they:
- work on a public holiday that would not normally be a working day for them
- are on call on a public holiday but are not required to restrict activities and are not called out (so do not work)
- are only employed to work or to be on call on public holidays – for example, they’re employed to work at a racetrack for the Waitangi Day meeting.
Taking an alternative holiday
An employee can take an alternative holiday on any day that:
- is agreed with their employer would normally be a working day for them, and is not a public holiday.
- If they cannot agree with their employer when they can take the alternative holiday, their employer can choose the day. The employer must:
- be reasonable and give the employee at least 14 days notice of the date they must take the day off.
Payment for alternative holidays
An employee must be paid at least their Relevant daily pay means the pay an employee would have been paid if they had been working on the day concerned. It is used to calculate payment for public holidays, alternative holidays, sick leave, family violence leave and bereavement leave. Average daily pay is a way of determining what an employee should be paid on a day that they would have otherwise worked but didn’t. It is used to calculate payment for public holidays, alternative holidays, sick leave, family violence leave and bereavement leave.
Payment for alternative holidays must be made in the pay for the period during which the day off is taken.
Getting paid out for an alternative holiday
An employee can ask for an alternative holiday to be paid out if 12 months have passed since they became entitled to the alternative holiday and have not yet taken it.
The payment amount must be agreed by the employee and their employer and must be made as soon as practical once the agreement has been made.
When an employee finishes a job with alternative holidays untaken
Alternative holidays do not expire. If an employee is entitled to an alternative holiday that they have not taken when they leave their employment, they must be paid out for it in their final pay at the rate of your relevant daily pay (or average daily pay, if applicable) for their last day of employment.