What am I owed if I work a public holiday?

If you work on a public holiday, your employer must pay you at least time and a half for the hours you work. If that day would normally have been a working day for you, you also get an alternative holiday, which is a paid day off to take later.

If you do not work the day, the rule flips. You are paid for the day off only if it is a day you would otherwise have worked. The tricky part is working out what counts as "otherwise working", and what happens when a holiday lands on a weekend. That is where Mondayisation comes in.

The basics

• Employees must be paid at least time and a half for hours worked on a public holiday. This must be written into your employment agreement.
• Your employer can agree to pay you more, but not less.
• You get the higher of two amounts: your relevant daily pay for the hours worked plus half again, or your relevant daily pay including any penal rates in your agreement.
• If the holiday is an otherwise working day for you and you work it, you also get an alternative holiday. This does not apply if you are employed only to work or be on call on public holidays.
• If you do not work it and it is an otherwise working day, you get the day off and are paid your relevant daily pay. If it is not an otherwise working day, there is no entitlement to pay, though an employer can choose to pay anyway.
• An otherwise working day is a day you would have worked if it were not a public holiday. Employment New Zealand ignores the holiday itself, and any sick, bereavement, family violence, annual or alternative leave on that day, when working this out.
• Alternative holidays do not expire. Once 12 months have passed since you became entitled, you and your employer can agree to pay it out. Unused ones are paid out in your final pay.
• Easter Sunday is not a public holiday.

Which holidays Mondayise

Waitangi Day and Anzac Day move to the following Monday if they fall on a weekend and you would not have worked that weekend day. Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and the Day after New Year's Day follow a similar rule. If they fall on a weekend and you would not have worked that day, they are observed on the following Monday, or in some cases Tuesday.

The "if you would not have worked that day" part matters. If you normally work Sundays and Anzac Day falls on a Sunday, then the Sunday is your holiday. The moved Monday is not. You cannot claim two holidays for the same occasion.

Holidays on fixed days, such as Good Friday, Easter Monday, King's Birthday, Matariki and Labour Day, do not move.

Christmas and New Year 2026/27 dates

Employment New Zealand and Govt.nz list these dates:

• Christmas Day: Friday 25 December 2026.
• Boxing Day: actual date Saturday 26 December. Observed on Monday 28 December if you would not have worked the Saturday.
• New Year's Day: Friday 1 January 2027.
• Day after New Year's Day: actual date Saturday 2 January. Observed on Monday 4 January if you would not have worked the Saturday.

If you do work Saturdays, your holiday for Boxing Day or 2 January is the Saturday itself. For other years, check the dates at employment.govt.nz.

How it is worked out: a shift worker example

• Is it an otherwise working day? Yes. Mia was rostered to work it.
• Time and a half: $30 x 1.5 = $45 an hour.
• Pay for the shift: 8 hours x $45 = $360.
• Alternative holiday: Mia also earns one. She picks a day with her employer that would normally be a working day for her and is not a public holiday, say Tuesday 12 January 2027.
• Pay for the alternative holiday: It is based on what she would have earned on the day she takes it, not on the holiday she worked. Eight hours x $30 = $240, paid in the pay period when she takes the day.

Total value for working Christmas Day: $360 for the shift plus a paid day off worth $240.

Why the rules work this way

The law treats a public holiday as a day of rest that most people are entitled to enjoy. If you work, you are compensated twice: a premium for the hours and a replacement day off. If the day was never going to be a workday for you, you lose nothing by the holiday, so there is no day to replace. That is also why casual and part-time workers with changing rosters often argue about what is "otherwise working". The answer rests on your actual pattern of work, not on a guess.

The catch

• Relevant daily pay versus average daily pay. Relevant daily pay is what you would have earned that day. If that cannot practicably be worked out, or your daily pay varies, your employer uses average daily pay: gross earnings over the past 52 weeks divided by days worked, including paid leave days.
• Roster changes. Employers sometimes roster you off a holiday to dodge paying for it. If you normally would have worked that day, you are still owed the day.
• Allowances. The law does not say whether regular allowances count. Employment New Zealand suggests applying time and a half to the full allowance, or to the part relating to the holiday.
• Annual leave over a holiday. If a public holiday falls inside your annual leave, you are paid for the holiday and you do not use a leave day, provided it was an otherwise working day.
• Closedowns. If you would otherwise have worked, you are paid for a public holiday during a closedown.
• Law change ahead. Parliament has passed the Employment Leave Act 2026 to replace the Holidays Act. Check the start date and what changes for public holidays at employment.govt.nz.

Common questions

Do I get an alternative holiday if I work a holiday that is not a normal workday for me?

No. You are still paid at least time and a half for the hours you work, but the alternative holiday only applies when the holiday is an otherwise working day for you.

Can my employer choose when I take my alternative holiday?

Only if you cannot agree. The day must be reasonable and the employer must give at least 14 days' notice. It must be a day that would be a working day for you and is not a public holiday.

I am salaried. How is my holiday pay worked out?

Divide your pay by the number of working days in the pay period to get your relevant daily pay. Employment New Zealand's example is a $2,000 fortnightly salary over 10 days, which gives $200 a day, so $300 for a full day worked at time and a half.

Is the Monday after a weekend holiday always the holiday?

No. It moves only if you would not have worked the weekend day. If you work that weekend day, it is the holiday.

Do this next if your pay looks wrong

1. Get your employment agreement and roster. Check what it says about public holiday rates.
2. Work out whether the holiday was an otherwise working day for you. Look at your usual pattern, not just one week.
3. Check your payslip for time and a half on the hours you worked, and for the day off if you did not work.
4. Check whether an alternative holiday has been recorded. Ask your employer for your balance in writing.
5. Raise the gap with your employer in writing, with the dates and hours.
6. If that does not fix it, call Employment New Zealand on 0800 20 90 20 or use their Get Help service. Mediation is free.

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Last reviewed 23 October 2026. Written by Streetwise from the official pages listed above. General information only, not legal or financial advice.