In association with
Public holidays
As well as their 4 weeks of annual leave, employees are entitled to 12 public holidays each year (if the public holidays fall on days they’d normally work). Employees who choose to work on public holidays are entitled to be paid time-and-a-half and may get a day’s leave to take later.
Work out if you’re paying your employees properly and doing what’s expected.
What you need to know
You can only require an employee to work on a public holiday if it’s written into their employment agreement and it’s a day they would usually work. Otherwise, you can ask an employee to work on a public holiday, but they don’t have to agree.
If an employee works on a public holiday
- they must get paid at least time and a half
- if the public holiday falls on what is a normal working day for them, they must also get a paid day off at a later date.
Employment New Zealand has more information if you need help working out what a normal working day is for your employees.
Normal working days(external link) — Employment New Zealand
Public holiday dates(external link) — Employment New Zealand
Public holiday entitlements(external link) — Employment New Zealand
Case study
Who gets a day in lieu?
Sarah works at a café on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Saturday is a public holiday. Sarah’s happy to work the public holiday so her boss rosters her on. Sarah would be paid time and a half for working on a public holiday, but she would not also get an alternative holiday, because Saturday is not her normal day of work.
David also works at the café. He normally works Saturdays and Sundays. If he works on the Saturday public holiday, he would be paid time and a half, and he’d also get an alternative holiday, because Saturday is his normal day of work. If David was on annual holiday and didn’t work on Saturday, he’d still be paid for the public holiday.
Easter Sunday
If you’re a shop owner, you may be able to open on Easter Sunday. But you can’t make your employees work that day – and they don’t have to give you a reason.
If you plan to open on Easter Sunday, you must give your employees written notice of their right to refuse to work at least four weeks in advance, but not earlier than eight weeks before.
Employment New Zealand has more information if you need help working out whether or not you can open on Easter Sunday.
Restricted shop trading tool(external link) — Employment New Zealand
Local council Easter Sunday shop trading policies(external link) — Employment New Zealand
Easter Sunday is not a public holiday. If you open, you can pay your staff their normal wage. They are not owed an alternative paid holiday.
Matariki
Matariki is a new public holiday observed for the first time in 2022. The holiday, which marks the beginning of the Māori New Year, is the first to recognise Te Ao Māori. Matariki is considered a standard national public holiday.
For information on employee public holiday remuneration click the links below.
Matariki public holiday(external link) — Employment New Zealand
Mondayisation
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, employees who don’t normally work then will have the following Monday as their paid public holiday. This is known as Mondayisation.
These public holidays can be moved to Monday (or in some cases Tuesday) if they fall on a Saturday or Sunday:
- Waitangi Day – 6 February
- Anzac Day – 25 April
- Christmas Day – 25 December
- Boxing Day – 26 December
- New Year's Day – 1 January
- Day after New Year's Day – 2 January
Mondayisation(external link) — Employment New Zealand
If your employees work weekends as well as Mondays, they don’t get both days as public holidays – they just get one.
If public holidays fall inside your annual closedown period, you must pay employees for those that fall on days they’d usually work – including weekend public holidays moved to Monday or Tuesday.
Case study
Juggling holiday rosters
Calista and her husband Rob run a café near Te Papa in Wellington and employ extra weekend employees to cope with demand.
Calista begins to worry when she realises Waitangi Day falls on a Saturday (for employees who don’t work weekends, this public holiday will be treated as falling on the following Monday). She feels she can’t afford to pay her regular Saturday employees time and a half, plus an alternative holiday.
But she knows it’s illegal to not roster regularly scheduled employees to avoid their holiday entitlements.
Calista calls a meeting with employees to talk about the Waitangi Day roster. She doesn’t ask them to take the day off, but instead asks for thoughts or requests. Two of her regular Saturday employees ask for that day off – one to go to a Waitangi commemorative festival, the other because family will be visiting for the long weekend.
Calista changes the roster, and pays these two workers public holiday pay for Waitangi Day. They’re happy to have the time off to mark the day, or to spend time with relatives, and Calista is relieved to have reduced her holiday weekend wage costs.
Days in lieu (alternative holidays)
Employees who are entitled to an alternative holiday get a full day off, no matter how many hours they worked on the public holiday.
They don’t get an alternative day if:
- they wouldn't usually have worked that day
- they only work on public holidays
- they were on call but didn't have to do anything, and being on call didn't stop them doing what they wanted to do with their day.
If you can't agree on when your employee will take an alternative holiday, you can choose a day for them – but you have to give them 14 days' notice. After 12 months, if they still haven’t taken the day off, you can agree with them to exchange the time off for an extra day's pay.
Alternative holidays(external link) — Employment New Zealand
To decide if it's a day your employee would usually work, use the Otherwise working day calculator.
Otherwise working day(external link) — Employment New Zealand
Transferring public holidays
Any employee can ask to transfer a public holiday to another day.
You must:
- consider the request seriously unless you have a policy that prevents transferring public holidays
- put any agreement to transfer a public holiday in writing.
You can:
- decline requests to transfer public holidays – it’s good to give a reason, although you’re not legally required to.
Transferring public holidays(external link) — Employment New Zealand
