2022/23 Christmas/New Year Holidays - Key Points

06 December 2022

What are the Public Holidays? The answer to that question will vary, depending on the individual employee’s work pattern.

The relevant Public Holidays are described in the Holidays Act as:

Christmas Day (ie Not 25 December).
Boxing Day.
New Year’s Day.
2 January.

This year 25 December and 1 January fall on a Sunday and so Christmas Day and New Years’ Day will transfer for most employees, but not all. In essence:

If Sunday is otherwise a working day for an employee, 25 December must be recognised as their Public Holiday for Christmas Day. But if Sunday is not otherwise a working day for an employee, then Tuesday 27 December must be recognised as their Public Holiday for Christmas Day.
Similarly, if Sunday is otherwise a working day for an employee, 1 January must be recognised as their Public Holiday for New Years’ Day. But if Sunday is not otherwise a working day for an employee, then Tuesday 3 January must be recognised as their Public Holiday for New Years’ Day.

This year Boxing Day and 2 January fall on a Monday and so they don’t transfer.

Note 1: An employee is not entitled to more than four Public Holidays over this period.

Note 2: Some employees, particularly those working part time, may not qualify for any paid public holidays in this period as shown below:

If neither Sunday nor Tuesday are otherwise working days for an employee, there is no entitlement to a paid Public Holiday in respect of Christmas Day.
Similarly, if neither Sunday nor Tuesday are otherwise working days for an employee, there is no entitlement to a paid Public Holiday in respect of New Years’ Day.
If Monday is not otherwise a working day for an employee, there is no entitlement to a Public Holiday in respect of Boxing Day or 2 January (ie they observe the holiday by not working it, but don’t receive any payment).

How to decide whether a particular day would otherwise be a working day for an employee who works a variable work pattern?

If there is a roster in place that will usually govern. Otherwise, there are a number of factors to consider, such as the employee’s employment agreement, the employee’s work pattern and whether the employee would otherwise have worked on the day, but for the public holiday.

As a guide:

If an employee has worked on a Sunday for at least 7 out of the previous 13 weeks, it may be reasonable to conclude that day is “otherwise a working day” for the employee.

If an employee has worked on a Sunday day for at least 3 out of the previous 5 weeks it may also be reasonable to conclude that day is “otherwise a working day” for the employee. This option recognises there may have been a recent change of work pattern.

Payment for working on a Public Holiday

Payments for the Christmas/New Year public holidays are the same as for any other public holiday:

Every person who works on a public holiday is entitled to be paid not less than time and a half (as defined in the Act). This amount is actually what they would have got had they worked on the day, plus half that amount again.
But only employees for whom that day would otherwise be a working day, are entitled to an Alternative Holiday.

Payment for an Alternative Holiday

Payment for the Alternative Holiday is at the employee’s relevant daily pay for the day on which they take the Alternative Holiday. The period of time spent working on the Public Holiday has no bearing on the matter. Therefore, if you’re asking an employee to work for only a short period on a Public Holiday, be aware they will be entitled to a whole Alternative Holiday on pay at a later date.

Employees on Standby

Employees on standby on a Public Holiday are also entitled to an Alternative Holiday even if they are not actually required to perform any work, provided the nature of the restriction imposed by the on-call condition on the employee’s freedom of action is such that, for all practical purposes, the employee has not had a whole holiday.

Please call if you have any questions – Tony 021 920 323, Justine 021 920 410, Michelle 021 993 735