Public holidays and annual leave

With summer holidays ahead of us, now is a good time to make sure you’re on track to pay your employees for any leave they will be taking. 

Following the introduction of Matariki in 2022, employees in New Zealand get 12 public holidays a year including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the 1st and 2nd of January. But what happens if your business needs to stay open on a national holiday?

When employees work all or part of a public holiday, businesses must:

• pay staff at least time and a half for the hours they work, and
• if the day is one they would normally have worked, give them an alternative holiday or a day in lieu.

You can only require a team member to work on a public holiday if it falls on a day they would usually be working, and their employment agreement requires them to work the public holiday.

The business.govt.nz website provides some useful information in regards paying your employees for leave - click on the link below.