Frustrated NZ Employers Face Public Holiday Pitfalls

As small to medium businesses across New Zealand continue to be challenged by the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, the steady run of designated public holidays poses potential pitfalls when it comes to effectively understanding and managing entitlements for workers.

Employsure Business Partner, Ms Emma Dawson, said the twelve designated public holidays in New Zealand in the coming year makes it critical for every employer to understand the impact of employee entitlements on their business – particularly the impact of Mondayisation on their bottom line.

“It can be difficult for employers to identify which date an employee should receive their public holiday entitlement. In circumstances where a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, an employee’s public holiday might be moved to the following Monday, or in some cases Tuesday,” Ms Dawson said.

“It is important that employers are aware that in general, if a public holiday falls on a day an employee would normally work, they are entitled to a paid day off,”she said.

Each time a long weekend comes around it creates an increased likelihood of a small business employer making an unintentional payment mistake and that risk is heightened when they are busy trying to cover for last minute gaps in staffing.”

The Employsure team is bracing for a spike in contacts in advance of each public holiday from employers wanting help to navigate the complexity of employee entitlements, correctly remunerate staff and fulfil their obligations under the Holiday Act 2003.

“Employsure has developed a comprehensive and easy-to-understand guide to support New Zealand businesses and help them understand their obligations as an employer,” Ms Dawson said.

If an employee works on a public holiday, they are entitled to be paid at least time and a half on that day. Mondayisation does not affect, and is not affected by, shop trading restrictions which happen on days such as Anzac Day morning. These always apply on the calendar date of certain holidays.

However, an employee cannot receive public holiday entitlements for both the calendar date and the observed date.

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