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
- 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
- they must also get a paid day off at a later date, if the public holiday falls on what is a normal working day for them.
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.
Matariki
Matariki is a public holiday observed for the first time in 2022. It marks the beginning of the Māori New Year and it’s the first holiday to recognise Te Ao Māori. Matariki is considered a standard national public holiday.
Mondayisation
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, employees who don’t normally work on those days 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
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.
Managing public 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).
Days in lieu
Days in lieu are also called 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.
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 don’t legally have to.
Learn more about