Public Holidays Christmas 2024

This year, Christmas Day falls on Wednesday, with Boxing day on Thursday.  The same with New Years Day and The Day After New Years Day (they so need a better name for this day!).  So, no Mondayising of any of these public holidays this Christmas holiday period.

Here is what you need to know about rights for employees and obligations for employers.

Payment for working a public holiday

Employees must be paid for the public holidays, if they normally work on a Wednesday or a Thursday. If they don’t normally work on these particular days, they don’t need to be paid for these days.

Any employee (including a casual employee) who agrees to work on any of these public holidays, must be paid time and a half for all hours they work.

In addition, if the any of the public holidays fall on a day an employee would normally work, then the employee who works on the public holiday is also entitled to a paid day off at another time (called an alternative holiday).

Even if an employer closes their business over this period, they still have to pay the employees their entitlements for the public holiday. If the employer closes their business over the Christmas period, they cannot make their employees take annual leave unless the employer has given the employee 14 days’ notice (closedown periods).

Generally, a public holiday runs from midnight to midnight, so even if you normally would work part of the public holiday (and it is an otherwise working day for you) you are entitled to an alternative holiday, as well as time and a half for the time worked on that public holiday.

There is a tonne of legislation around this which creates a lot of confusion around how much to pay staff correctly. In simple terms, staff must be paid their relevant daily pay for an unworked public holiday.  If they had come to work, what would they have got paid.  If that cannot be determined, then average daily pay calculations can be used.

Giving an employee public holiday entitlement

• If an employee normally does not work on Wednesday or Thursday and doesn't work, they do not get the public holiday payment for unworked public holiday.
• If an employee would normally work on the Wednesday or Thursday and doesn't work, then they will get their unworked public holiday.
• If an employee does not normally work on the Wednesday or Thursday, but does work either day, then they get paid time and half, with no alternative day allowance.
• If an employee does normally work on the Wednesday or Thursday, and does work either day, then they get paid time and half, and an alternative day allowance for each day worked.

Sick or bereavement leave on the public holiday

When an employee would have worked on a public holiday but is sick or bereaved, the day is treated as a normal paid public holiday and:

• the employee would be paid their relevant daily pay or average daily pay but would not be entitled to time and a half or an alternative holiday.
• no sick or bereavement leave is deducted.

Christmas holidays and annual holidays

If the employee is in the middle of their annual holidays during the Christmas break like a lot of NZers are, and the Wednesday or Thursday is a day they normally work, they will get paid for one public holiday for each of those days, and this is not deducted from their annual holidays. (note this is a must and cannot be contracted out of.)

Requests for annual holidays

Sometimes employees will request to extend Christmas with annual holidays.

Employees are entitled to 4 weeks’ annual holidays each year when they have worked for their employer for 12 months. Prior to the 12 months, an employer may grant annual holidays in advance at their discretion.

If an employee wants to take entitled annual holidays, the employer can’t unreasonably refuse. An employer can say no if an employee wants to take annual holidays in advance.

How can we help?

Confused? Most employers are. We cover this and all the other essential topics around #gettingpayrollright in our NZ Payroll Essentials Training Program.