BASIC ENTITLEMENTS

There are 11 public holidays per year.

All employees who would ordinarily have worked on a day when a public holiday lands but are unable to work because the business is shut or they are not required, are entitled to a day off on pay.

All employees who work on a public holiday are entitled to be paid time and a half their relevant daily pay for any hours they actually work on that day.

Employees who work on a public holiday that would otherwise be a working day, and employees who are on call (and the on-call is considered restrictive) are also entitled to an alternative day off in lieu.

Any employees who would not normally work on a day on which a public holiday lands and who don’t work are not entitled to any pay for that day.

Public Holidays are the 24 hours from midnight to midnight.

NOTE: Previously it was possible for employees and employers to agree that the public holiday would be observed on another day. This is no longer possible. A recent Supreme Court decision means that employers and employees can no longer transfer public holidays to a day which suits them. They will have to observe the holiday on the day stated in the Holidays Act 2003.

An exception applies to employees on shiftwork who work over midnight before/after a public holiday. They can agree with the Employer to shift their Public Holiday to a 24-hour period which starts or finishes on the date of the traditional holiday and covers a whole shift.

For example, an employee who works from 10pm to 6am, and the public holiday starts at midnight, they can agree to move the public holiday to run from 6am the previous day to 6am on the original public holiday.  This saves the employee having to come to work for 2 hours and go home at midnight.

The agreement has to be in writing and can’t reduce the number of Public Holidays that the employee is entitled to.

ON CALL

Employees who are on call for a public holiday but not called out are entitled to any on-call rates as stipulated in their employment agreement and may be entitled to an alternative day if the on-call places considerable restrictions on their movements for that day. 

Employees who are on call for a public holiday and are called out are entitled to any on-call rates as stipulated in the employment agreement plus time and a half for any hours actually worked plus an alternative day.

Payment of time and a half is only made if penal rates of higher value are not stipulated in the employment agreement.  For example if the agreement states that call-out rates are at double ordinary time, then this is the amount paid because this is more than the time and a half required by the act.  If call out rates are time and a quarter then time and a half is paid.

Employees who are on-call on a day that would not otherwise be a working day, cannot also be paid for a public holiday as if they are having the day off.  By its very nature to be on call you cannot be on holiday.

ALTERNATIVE DAY

The Alternative Day is not a payment.  It is a day in lieu of the Public Holiday given as compensation when an employee works on a public holiday that would otherwise have been a working day or is on-call and whose movements are restricted.

Alternative days must be taken as leave within 12 months of being awarded.  If the alternative day has not been taken at the end of the 12 month period, then it must be sold back to the company (paid out) at a rate negotiated between the employee and employer.  Alternative days cannot be accumulated past 12 months. 

OTHER

An employee can be paid for the public holiday, at their relevant daily pay, if they would have worked but didn’t, or time and half if they did work the public holiday not both.

On-call rates remain as stipulated in the employment agreement irrespective of the day.  The Holidays Act does not require an increase in on-call rates for a public holiday.

RELEVANT DAILY PAY

Relevant Daily Pay is the amount an employee would normally have been paid.  It includes the hourly rate plus any other allowances, commission payments and penal rates.

NB:  Time and a half is not paid on pay which includes penal rates.  The penal rate must first be deducted from the relevant daily pay amount.

Examples:

Sue normally works Monday to Friday.  Queens Birthday lands on a Monday.   The company is closed.  Sue is paid for the Monday at her relevant daily pay.

Thomas normally works Tuesday to Friday.  Queens Birthday lands on a Monday.  The company is closed.  Thomas will receive no pay for the Monday as he would not normally have worked that day.

Jane normally works Monday to Friday.  Queens Birthday lands on a Monday.  Jane is required by the company to work on Monday for 4 hours.   Jane will receive time and a half her relevant daily pay for the four hours she worked on the Monday plus four hours at her relevant daily pay as compensation for the holiday.  She also receives an alternative day.

Matthew normally works Tuesday to Saturday.  Queens Birthday lands on a Monday.  Matthew is asked to work six hours on the Monday.  Matthew would receive time and a half his relevant daily pay for the six hours he actually worked but would not receive an alternative day as he would not normally work.

Paula normally works Tuesday to Thursday.  Queens Birthday lands on a Monday.  Paula is asked to be on call for the full 24 hour period of Queens Birthday.  Paula is not called out on that Day.  Paula would receive her normal on call rate plus an alternative day but would not receive any payment for the day as it is not one she would ordinarily have worked. 

Brian normally works Tuesday to Thursday.  Queens Birthday lands on a Monday.  Brian is on call for the full 24 hour period of Queens Birthday.  Brian is called out and works for three hours.  Brian is entitled to his on-call rate, an alternative day plus time and a half for the three hours he was called out.

Kate normally works Monday to Thursday.  Queens Birthday lands on a Monday.  Kate is on call for the full 24 hour period of Queens Birthday.   Kate is not called out.  Kate is entitled to her on-call rate, an alternative day plus payment at her relevant daily rate for the Public Holiday.