Navigating public holiday pays

Public holidays and payroll can be a tricky combo – but this guide will change that in a flash. Find out everything you need to know to prepare your payroll for upcoming public holidays.

In this guide:

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when to observe a public holiday if it falls on a weekend, and

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how to calculate public holiday pay.

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NZ public holidays to put in your calendar

Observation dates & Mondayisation

Before you can calculate public holiday pay, it’s important to figure out which day your employee should observe the public holiday. 

How do I know which day my employee should observe the public holiday?

If the public holiday falls on a weekday, nothing changes and the holiday is observed on this day.

If a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the public holiday is moved to the following Monday (or in some cases Tuesday if there are two consecutive holidays). This is known as Mondayisation.

The only exceptions to this rule are:

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if a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday and this is an otherwise working day for an employee, or

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if a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday and both the weekend date and the following Monday are otherwise working days for an employee.

In both of these cases, the employee should take the original weekend date as their public holiday.

You can check out Employment NZ’s Mondayisation Flowchart for help determining which date your employees should observe the public holiday.

Calculating public holiday pay

How much you pay your employees for public holidays depends on whether they work that day AND whether it’s an otherwise working day. 

What do I do if my employee works on a public holiday?

If any of your employees work on a public holiday, you are legally required to pay them at ‘time and a half’ or 1.5 times their standard rate for this day.

If you’re with Thankyou Payroll, you would record this as ‘Public Holiday wrkd’ in their timesheet and the calculations will be made automatically for you.

If the public holiday is an otherwise working day, you also need to allocate a day of alternative leave to their leave balance. 

What do I do if my employee takes a public holiday off?

This one’s easy. If the public holiday is an otherwise working day, simply pay your employee at their usual rate for that day.

If you’re with Thankyou Payroll, you would record this as ‘Public Holiday off’ in their timesheet and the calculations will be made automatically for you.

If the public holiday is not an otherwise working day for your employee, you do not need to do anything.

NZ public holidays 

Here is a list of the public holidays in Aotearoa New Zealand. Click a holiday to find out the actual and observed date.

New Years Day

Actual date: Sunday 1st January 2023

Observed date: Tuesday 3rd January 2023

Day After New Years Day

Actual date: Monday 2nd January 2023

Observed date: Monday 2nd January 2023

Waitangi Day

Actual date: Monday 6th February

Observed date: Monday 6th February 2023

Good Friday

Actual date: Friday 7th April 2023

Observed date: Friday 7th April 2023.

Easter Monday

Actual date: Monday 10th April 2023

Observed date: Monday 10th April 2023.

Anzac Day

Actual date: Tuesday 25th April 2023

Observed date: Tuesday 25th April 2023

King's Birthday

Actual date: Monday 5th June 2023

Observed date: Monday 5th June 2023

Matariki

Actual date: Friday 14th July 2023

Observed date: Friday 14th July 2023

Labour Day

Actual date: Monday 23rd October 2023

Observed date: Monday 23rd October 2023

Christmas Day

Actual date: Monday 25th December 2023

Observed date: Monday 25th December 2023

Boxing Day

Actual date: Tuesday 26th December 2023

Observed date: Tuesday 26th December 2023

Download Public Holidays Guide

Download our Public Holidays PDF Guide for a more detailed breakdown of the tasks you need to complete to prepare your payroll for a public holiday.

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