Public Holidays
Introduction
In accordance with the Holidays Act 2003 and its amendments, eleven (11) paid public holidays per year are provided to employees.
Public Holidays
These public holidays are separate from and additional to annual holidays.The public holidays are:
Christmas Day (25 December)
Boxing Day (26 December)
New Year’s Day (1 January)
2 January
Waitangi Day
Good Friday
Easter Monday
Anzac Day
The birthday of the reigning sovereign
Labour Day
Anniversary Day
Waiving Rights
Employees cannot waive their rights to such a day and these public holidays cannot be contracted out of through the payment of penal rates.
NOTE: See also policy on Recognition of Culturally and Religiously Important Days.
Working on a Public Holiday
The employee agrees to work on public holidays if required by the employer. The employer undertakes to provide the employee with as much notice as practicable of such requirement.
Mondayisation: Transfer of public holidays
If a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, some team members’ public holiday entitlements may be moved from the actual date of the holiday to the following Monday or Tuesday. This is known as “Mondayisation”.
The public holiday must fall on a Saturday or Sunday to be Mondayised. If a public holiday falls on a weekday, then the public holiday is not Mondayised.
Which holidays are Mondayised?
If the following public holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday then they may be transferred to the following Monday.
Anzac Day – 25 April
Waitangi Day – 6 February
If the following public holidays fall on a Saturday then they may be transferred to the following Monday. If they fall on a Sunday then they may be transferred to the following Tuesday.
Christmas Day – 25 December
Boxing Day – 26 December
News Year’s Day – 1 January
The day after News Year’s Day – 2 January
When does Mondayisation apply?
Mondayisation of a public holiday depends on whether or not the team member would have normally worked on the actual date of the holiday:
The holiday is Mondayised when a team member would not normally work on the actual date of the holiday. The team member gets public holiday entitlements on the following Monday or Tuesday.
The holiday is not Mondayised when a team member:
Would normally work on the actual date of the holiday. The team member gets public holiday entitlements on the actual date of the holiday.
Would normally work on both the actual date of the holiday and the following Monday or Tuesday. The team member does not get two holidays; they only get public holiday entitlements on the actual date of the holiday.
What are the holiday entitlements?
A team member’s holiday entitlements are different depending on whether or not they actually work on the holiday (or the day on which their holiday entitlements are transferred to):
If they do work on the holiday, the team member is entitled to time and a half pay and may also be entitled to an alternative holiday on another day.
If they do not work on the holiday, the team member is entitled to ordinary pay for the day off
Further Information
For further information on the Holidays Act or entitlements, please contact either People Support, refer to the Holidays Act itself or contact the Department of Labour.
Taking Alternative Days
The holiday an employee is entitled to when they work a public holiday is known as an alternative day. For information regarding alternative days please refer policy on Alternative Holidays.