Employees
Public holidays rights for employees
An employee is entitled to a paid day off if a public holiday falls on a day they would otherwise be working.
What you’re entitled to
You are entitled to a paid day off if a 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. 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.
An otherwise working day is a day that you would have been working had the day not been a public holiday, Sick leave is paid time off work if the employee, their spouse, partner, dependent child or other person who depends on them is sick or injured. A minimum of 10 days sick leave is available each year. Bereavement leave gives an employee time to grieve and to take care of matters to do with the bereavement. This can be taken at any time and for any purpose relating to the bereavement. It does not have to be taken straight away or on consecutive days. Every employee is entitled to at least four weeks paid annual holidays (annual leave) each year when they have worked for their employer for 12 months. In some situations, an employee can be paid 8% of their gross earnings with their regular pay instead of getting paid time off (also see Pay-as-you-go) 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.
You are entitled to a maximum of 12 public holidays a year, with the following conditions:
- you cannot claim 2 public holidays if a public holiday is Mondayised (one for the actual date and one for the Mondayised date) – even if both are otherwise working days for you
Public holidays falling on a weekend
- you are not entitled to more than 4 public holidays over the Christmas and New Year period, regardless of your work pattern you can only claim one regional Anniversary Day per year – for example, if you are usually based in Auckland but are temporarily based in Wellington, you and the employer should agree which Anniversary Day will be observed. If you cannot reach an agreement, you are entitled to observe the anniversary of the province that you usually work in.
Penal rates
A ‘penal rate’ is an additional amount, usually specified in an Employment agreements contain the terms and conditions of employment. Every employee must have a written employment agreement outlining the terms and conditions of employment. ‘Employment agreement’ has a broader meaning that includes all other documents and other agreements forming part of the contractual agreement between the employee and employer.
Working on a public holiday
If you work on a public holiday, you must be paid at least the higher rate of:
- your
relevant daily pay for the time worked on the day, not including any penal rates, plus half that amount again (time and a half), orRelevant 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.
- your relevant daily pay for the time worked on the day, plus the penal rates in their employment agreement.
You must also be given 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.
If you work on a public holiday, your employer must give you an alternative holiday (also called a ‘day in lieu’) if the day the holiday falls is an ‘ 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.
When you must work
Your employer can only make you work on a public holiday if:
- it falls on a day that you would have otherwise worked, and
- your employment agreement says you have to work on the public holiday.
If you are required to work on a public holiday that does not fall within your agreed and guaranteed hours, this must be covered by an availability clause in your Employment agreements contain the terms and conditions of employment. Every employee must have a written employment agreement outlining the terms and conditions of employment. ‘Employment agreement’ has a broader meaning that includes all other documents and other agreements forming part of the contractual agreement between the employee and employer.
If you have an availability clause, your employer must:
- have genuine reasons based on reasonable grounds for including the clause in your employment agreement, and for requiring you to be available on the public holiday, and
- give you reasonable compensation for being available to work.
Shift work on a public holiday
If you work a shift that falls on a public holiday, you must be paid at least time and a half for the actual hours worked on the public holiday.
If the public holiday is an otherwise working day for you, you also get an alternative holiday – even if only part of your shift fell on the public holiday.
Shifts split across a public holiday and a normal day
Generally, a public holiday runs from midnight to midnight, so if you work on any part of the public holiday (and it is an ‘ 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. 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.
Sean works an 8-hour shift from 7pm Sunday to 3am Monday – Monday being a public holiday and a day he would normally work (an ‘otherwise working day’). He is entitled to:
- 5 hours at his normal Sunday rate of pay for the hours 7pm to 12am, and
- at least time and a half at his relevant daily pay rate (or average daily pay, if applicable) for the 3 hours he worked on the Monday
- an alternative holiday.
Tom works 8 hours from 10pm Christmas Day to 6am on Boxing Day and both are otherwise working days for him. He gets:
- 8 hours pay of at least time and a half, and
- 2 alternative holidays (one each for Christmas and Boxing Day).
Dianne works from 10pm Christmas Eve to 6am on Christmas Day, and Christmas Day is an otherwise working day for her. She works the same shift beginning on Christmas night, finishing at 6am on Boxing Day. Dianne gets:
- 2 hours pay at ordinary time (for Christmas Eve), and
- 6 hours pay of at least time and a half for the first shift, and
- 8 hours pay of at least time and a half for the second shift, and
- 2 alternative holidays (one each for Christmas Day and Boxing Day).
Helen works an 8-hour shift starting on ANZAC Day at 10pm and ANZAC Day is an otherwise working day for her. She gets:
- 2 hours pay of at least time and a half, and
- 6 hours pay at the normal hourly rate, and
- an alternative holiday.
Alternatively, Helen and her employer could agree to transfer the public holiday so that it covers one whole shift.
Being on call during a public holiday
If, on a day you would otherwise be working, you:
- are called out, you are entitled to at least time and a half for the time worked – plus an
alternative holiday 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.
- have to limit your activities on the day to the extent that you have not enjoyed a full holiday – for example, if you are required to stay at home all day, but are not called out – you are entitled to an alternative holiday
- are on call, but do not have to limit activities – for example, if you can choose not to accept a call-out – you only get an alternative holiday if you accept a call-out; you also get paid time and a half while you're on the call-out
- are on call but are not called out, or choose not to accept the call-out, you are entitled to your
relevant daily pay orRelevant 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 for the public holiday.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.
Transferring a public holiday
In some circumstances, you can agree with your employer to transfer your public holiday to a different day.
When a public holiday falls on a weekend
If a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday and you do not usually work on the weekends, the holiday will be transferred to the next working day – typically a Monday, but sometimes a Tuesday. This is called ‘Mondayisation’.
When you take the day off
When you take a public holiday as a day off work, you must be paid what you would have earned if you had worked that day – your ‘ 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.
An employer can also choose to use your average daily pay if your daily pay varies within the pay period in which the holiday falls.
Public holidays when you're on leave
These scenarios show what happens when a public holiday falls when you’re on leave.
If your workplace has a closedown period that includes public holidays – for example, over the Christmas and New Year period – you are entitled to a paid public holiday if you would have worked that day had there not been a closedown.
If you are on Every employee is entitled to at least four weeks paid annual holidays (annual leave) each year when they have worked for their employer for 12 months. In some situations, an employee can be paid 8% of their gross earnings with their regular pay instead of getting paid time off (also see Pay-as-you-go)
Example – ANZAC Day falls during a period of annual holidays
Julie works full-time Monday to Friday. She takes 2 weeks’ annual holidays from 16 to 30 April, during which time ANZAC Day falls. Julie must be paid her relevant daily pay or average daily pay for the ANZAC Day public holiday and does not lose a day of annual holidays.
If ANZAC day were to fall on a weekend, as Julie doesn’t work weekends, ANZAC Day would be Mondayised for her.
Your employer does not have to pay you for any public holiday that falls when you're on parental leave, as you would not have been working on that day. If you are getting a parental leave payment during a week when there is a public holiday, the payment is not affected by the public holiday.
If you would have worked on a public holiday but could not because you were sick, injured (or had a spouse, partner or dependant who was sick or injured), affected by family violence (if entitled to family violence leave), or suffering a bereavement, the day is treated as a paid unworked public holiday. That means:
- you should be paid your relevant daily pay or average daily pay for the day of the public holiday
- you are not entitled to time and a half or an alternative holiday because you did not work on the day
- the day is treated as a public holiday and not taken off your balance of sick leave, bereavement leave or family violence leave.
Your employer is not normally required to pay you for any public holiday that falls when you're on planned unpaid leave, as you would not have otherwise been working on that day.
Your employer is required to pay you for an unworked public holiday when it falls on a day you would otherwise have worked. Generally, an employer would not have to pay you for a public holiday while you’re on ACC, as these are not days you would have worked.
However, should you get injured, it’s likely that any public holiday in the following week that would have been an otherwise working day will continue to be considered as such. This means you will be entitled to payment for that public holiday.
Where you’re using leave entitlements (such as sick leave) to cover the first week after a non-work-related injury, your leave balance should not be reduced, and you should be paid for the public holiday.
If your employer is paying you first-week compensation, and you are entitled to a paid public holiday during that week, you should be paid your full relevant daily pay (or average daily pay, where applicable) for the public holiday, not 80 percent of that amount.
ACC payments
ACC weekly compensation payments are calculated on a weekly basis and cover time away from work due to an injury.
If you’re paid for any public holidays while receiving ACC weekly compensation, your payment for that week may be affected. You need to let know if any income, including for a public holiday, is paid during a period of weekly compensation in case it affects how much compensation ACC can pay you.
Public holidays and other leave events during a period of leave without pay
If a public holiday falls during a period when an employee is taking leave without pay, they do not receive any payment for the public holiday. This is because it would not be a day that they would otherwise be working had it not been a public holiday.
For the same reason, they may not be entitled to sick leave or bereavement leave during a period of leave without pay because it would not be a day they would otherwise be working. There are some exceptions to this, so it’s important to work out whether the day is an 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.
For example, they may be on leave without pay because they’re sick and do not have enough sick leave. If a public holiday falls within a period of leave without pay, on a day that you would have worked (if you had not been sick, and it was not a public holiday), they would be entitled to payment for the public holiday.