Easter Trading 2024: What you Need to Know
21 March 2024With Easter coming up, here is important information on employer obligations and employee entitlements.
Easter Dates:
- Good Friday (public holiday) – 29 March 2024
- Easter Sunday – 31 March 2024
- Easter Monday (public holiday) – 1 April 2024
Entitlements: Good Friday and Easter Monday
In determining employee entitlements, it is important to identify whether Good Friday or Easter Monday fall on a day that would otherwise be a working day for the employee. If this is the case, then:
- If the employee does work, they are entitled to be paid the appropriate portion of their relevant daily pay, plus half that amount again (time-and-a-half); and an alternative holiday on pay at a later date.
- If the employee does not work, they are entitled to be paid their relevant daily pay.
Easter Sunday Trading
Under New Zealand’s current trading laws, there are restrictions on what businesses may open on Easter Sunday. Councils also have the ability to vary arrangements in their area, and therefore the rules may vary between different regions.
Although Easter Sunday is not a public holiday, employees have a right to refuse to work without reason.
To find out more about local council Easter Sunday trading policies, click here.
If an employer wants an employee to work on Easter Sunday, they must be notified in writing of their right to refuse. This must be given:
- No earlier than 8 weeks and no later than 4 weeks before Easter Sunday if the employee’s employment with the employer started more than 4 weeks before Easter Sunday, or
- As soon as reasonably practicable if the employee’s employment with the employer started 4 weeks or less before Easter Sunday.
To see how employers should set out written notice, click here.
Entitlement: Easter Sunday
Unless the employee’s employment agreement provides differently, Easter Sunday is just an ordinary day for employment purposes:
- If the employee does work on Easter Sunday, they are only entitled to their ordinary rate of pay (unless you agree to something better).
- If the employee does not work on Easter Sunday, they are not entitled to payment.
For more information you can contact us: Tony Teesdale 021 920 323, Justine O’Connell 021 920 410, Michelle Battersby 021 993 735, or Esther Cohen-Goh 021 178 4111