Everyone
Public holiday pay
Employees must be paid for a public holiday if it’s a day they would usually work. If they work on a public holiday, they must be paid at least time-and-a-half.
What employers must do
To make sure they give employees their An observed day of national, religious, or cultural significance. Special payment rates and entitlements apply to public holidays.
- which day will be treated as a public holiday for the employee if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday and is moved to a Monday or Tuesday
- if the public holiday falls on a day the employee would usually work (an otherwise working day)
- whether or not the employee will work on the day
- how much the employee will be paid for the day
- whether the employee is entitled to an
alternative holiday .A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day.
Pay for a public holiday must be made in the pay period the holiday falls in.
Use our ‘ When a public holiday which falls on a Saturday or Sunday is moved to the following Monday (or in some cases Tuesday).
When a public holiday falls on a weekend
Working on Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday is not a public holiday. For information about working and trading on Easter Sunday, visit:
Calculating public holiday pay
Pay for worked and unworked public holidays is calculated using The amount an employee would have been paid if they’d worked on a public holiday, alternative holiday, or on a day they took sick leave, family violence leave or bereavement leave. The daily average of the employee’s total gross earnings over the past 52 weeks.
RDP is the amount the employee would have earned if they had worked on the day in question. It includes the employee’s usual pay plus incentive payments, overtime, cash value of board or lodgings provided, and other regular Extra payments paid to an employee to cover employment-related expenses, for example, a reimbursement, something specific related to the job (like a night-shift allowance), or in recognition of extra skills that they bring to the job.
ADP is the daily average of the employee’s gross earnings over the past 52 weeks, or weeks they’ve been employed if it’s less than 52 weeks.
ADP can only be used if:
- it’s not possible or practicable to work out RDP, or
- the employee's daily pay varies in the pay period in question.
For more information about these calculations, visit:
Calculating holiday and leave pay
Our Holidays Act 2003 guides provide information about leave and holidays entitlements and pay.
Our shorter guide is for employees and employers to help them understand minimum employment entitlements:
Leave and holidays: A guide to employees’ legal entitlements [PDF, 2.1 MB]
Our longer guide gives detailed, practical guidance for payroll providers and professionals:
Pay when employees do not work on a public holiday
When an employee does not work on a public holiday, what they are paid depends on whether it’s a day they would usually work — an otherwise working day.
If it is an otherwise working day, the employer must pay the employee their RDP (or ADP if applicable). The employee also gets the day off.
If it is not an otherwise working day, the employee is not entitled to be paid for the public holiday. However, an employer can choose to pay an employee for the public holiday even if it’s not a day the employee would usually work.
Pay when employees work on a public holiday
If an employee works on a public holiday, their employer must pay them (at least) the greater of:
- time-and-a-half: the employee’s RDP (ADP if applicable) for the time worked on the day (not including any penal rates in the employment agreement) plus half that amount again, or
- the employee's RDP (ADP if applicable) for the time actually worked on the day including any penal rates in the employment agreement.
When an employee works on a public holiday, RDP will be clear and for practical purposes will be based on what the employee earns on that day. Most of the time, employers will be able to work out RDP, so ADP would only be used if the employee’s daily pay varies within the pay period.
Penal rates
Penal rates are special rates employees get paid for doing extra tasks or working on particular days or at particular times. For more information, visit:
Paying time-and-a-half on an enduring allowance
An enduring allowance is an allowance that is paid to an employee:
- in full
- at a set rate
- on a regular basis.
For example, an employee might get an enduring allowance of $100 with their weekly pay to cover vehicle costs. They get the full $100 regardless of how many hours they work.
The law does not say if enduring allowances are included in the An employee’s pay for the time they worked multiplied by 1.5.
We recommend that if the allowance, or portion of it, is relevant to the public holiday when the employee worked, employers should pay time-and-a-half:
- on the full allowance, or
- on the portion of the allowance that relates to the public holiday.
If the allowance is not relevant to the public holiday when the employee worked, the employer can pay:
- time-and-a-half on the employee’s
RDP for the time worked on the day, andThe amount an employee would have been paid if they’d worked on a public holiday, alternative holiday, or on a day they took sick leave, family violence leave or bereavement leave.
- the weekly allowance in full as usual.
Alternative holiday for employees working on a public holiday
An A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day.
- work on a public holiday
- the public holiday is an otherwise working day (a day they would usually work), and
- are not employed to only work on public holidays.
Some people call alternative holidays ‘lieu days’ or ‘days off in lieu’, but those terms can also refer to other types of leave so we recommend calling alternative holidays by their correct name.
Employees do not get an alternative holiday if they are employed to work only on public holidays. For example, if an employee is only employed to work at the racetrack for the Waitangi Day meeting, they do not get an alternative holiday. However, their employer must still pay them at least time-and-a half for the hours they work on that day.
Pay for an alternative holiday
Pay for an alternative holiday is the employee’s RDP (or ADP if applicable) for the hours they would have worked on the day they take the alternative holiday.
Pay for an alternative holiday is not based on the hours the employee worked on the public holiday.
For example, an employee gets an alternative holiday for working 3 hours on Easter Monday. They take their alternative holiday on the following Friday. They would usually work 8 hours on a Friday. The employee must be paid for 8 hours, because this is the amount that they would have received if they’d worked on the Friday.
Payment for alternative holidays must be made in the pay period when the holiday is taken.
Alternative holidays may be paid out
If an employee does not take an alternative holiday within 12 months of becoming entitled to it, the employee and employer can agree for the alternative holiday to be paid out. The payment amount must be agreed by the employer and employee and paid as soon as possible once it’s been agreed to.
Alternative holidays remaining at the end of employment
Alternative holidays do not expire. Unless they have been taken or paid out, the employee is still entitled to them.
If an employee leaves their employment and they have an alternative holiday that they have not taken, they are paid out for the alternative holiday at the rate of their The amount an employee would have been paid if they’d worked on a public holiday, alternative holiday, or on a day they took sick leave, family violence leave or bereavement leave.
For information about calculating an employee’s final pay, visit:
Public holiday scenarios
Aroha is on-call on Christmas Day. Christmas Day is an otherwise working day for Aroha. She is called in to work at lunchtime. Aroha is entitled to:
- at least time-and-a-half for the time she worked on the day, and
- her on-call allowance, and
- a full day’s alternative holiday.
Neil is on-call on Matariki. He usually works on Fridays, so it’s an otherwise working day for him. He does not get called in to work. Neil is entitled to:
- his relevant daily pay or average daily pay (if applicable) for the day, and
- his on-call allowance, and
- an alternative holiday, if he had to restrict his activities to the extent that he did not enjoy a full holiday.
Kenny is also on-call on Matariki, but it’s not an otherwise working day for him. He is called in to work. Kenny is entitled to:
- at least time-and-a-half for the time he worked on the day, and
- his on-call allowance.
Kenny does not get an alternative holiday because it was not an otherwise working day (a day he would usually work).
If Kenny had not been called in to work, he would have only been entitled to his on-call allowance for the day.
Ella is a salaried employee who works the same hours each day and the same days each week. She is paid $2,000 each fortnight. Ella works her normal hours on Matariki and is entitled to time-and-a-half of her relevant daily pay.
In her case, her employer works out her relevant daily pay by taking her fortnightly salary and dividing it by the number of days worked during the pay period. Ella works 10 days each fortnight, so her employer divides $2,000 by 10.
Ella’s RDP is 2,000/10 = $200.
Her pay for the public holiday is her RDP x 1.5. Ella is paid $200 x 1.5 = $300.
If Ella had only worked half a day, her RDP would be $100. Her payment for the public holiday would then be $100 x 1.5 = $150 (half of $300).
Ella also gets a full alternative holiday if Matariki is a day she would have usually worked, no matter how many hours she worked on the public holiday.
Rima has regular hours each week and is paid an hourly rate and no additional payments. Her employment agreement says: ’The pay rate for this position is $26 per hour. For time worked on a public holiday, the pay rate is time-and-a-half.’
Rima will get paid $39 ($26 x 1.5) for each hour she works on the public holiday.
Pete works on an ANZAC Day that falls on a Sunday. Sunday is a day Pete would usually work (an otherwise working day). Sometimes ANZAC day is Mondayised when it falls on a Sunday, but because Sunday is an otherwise working day for Pete, it’s treated as the public holiday.
Pete’s employment agreement requires him to work on public holidays. Pete normally earns $27 an hour and his employment agreement gives him double-time for working on a public holiday.
Pete works 2 hours on ANZAC day. Under his employment agreement, Pete will get 2 x $27 = $54 an hour for the time he works on ANZAC Day.
Under the Holidays Act 2003, the minimum Pete would get is $27 x 1.5 = $40.50 an hour for the time he works on ANZAC Day.
However, because Pete gets more under his employment agreement than the Holidays Act 2003, he will be paid $54 an hour. He will also get an alternative holiday because Sunday is an otherwise working day – a day he would usually work.
Jane usually only works on Saturdays and Sundays, but she agrees to work on Labour Day this year even though she would not usually work on that day. She is normally paid $25 an hour, but her employment agreement says she will be paid $35 an hour and get an alternative holiday if she works on a public holiday.
Under the Holidays Act 2003, the minimum Jane will get paid for working a public holiday is time-and-a-half, which is $25 x 1.5 = $37.50 an hour. Because this is more than the $35 an hour for working on a public holiday stated in her employment agreement, she must be paid $37.50 an hour.
Jane does not qualify for an alternative holiday under the Holidays Act 2003 because Monday is not an otherwise working day for her. However, she gets an alternative holiday because it is stated in her employment agreement.
Karim works Monday to Thursday each week. His hours vary between 6 and 9 each day.
Labour Day falls on a Monday, which is an otherwise working day – a day he would usually work. Karim is entitled to:
- the day off, and
- his relevant daily pay (or average daily pay if applicable) for the day.
Karim’s varying work pattern means that his employer cannot work out his relevant daily pay. This means that Karim is paid his average daily pay for Labour Day.
The formula to calculate Karim’s average daily pay is:
- total gross earnings for 52 weeks = $47,216
- whole or part-days worked (includes paid holidays or leave) = 208 days
- average daily pay = $47,216 divided by 208 days = $227.
Matt works part-time for an average of 16.5 hours each week across 3 shifts. The days of the week he works, and the length of each shift, vary from week to week. He does not have penal rates for public holidays in his employment agreement.
Monday is a public holiday and Matt is rostered to work for 6 hours. Matt’s relevant daily pay is easy to calculate because he is working on the day (although his employer could choose to pay him average daily pay because his daily pay varies in the period).
Matt is paid the portion of his relevant daily pay for the hours he works (which is 6 hours at his hourly rate), multiplied by 1.5. He will also receive a paid alternative holiday.
If Matt’s employment agreement gave him double-time for working on a public holiday (penal rate), then both calculations would need to be done. Matt would be paid the greater of:
- the portion of his relevant daily pay (not including any penal rates) that relates to the time he works, plus half that amount again, or
- the portion of his relevant daily pay that relates to the time he works (including his penal rate provision of double-time).
In this situation, because double-time will be greater than time-and-a-half, Matt must be paid double-time.