New Zealand public holidays can be tricky for payroll – especially if you're juggling multiple roles in your business. With Christmas, New Year, Waitangi Day, Easter and ANZAC Day all seeming to roll into each other, now is a good time to make sure you've got the key rules sorted.
If you're ever unsure, you're not alone. Many business owners and payroll administrators find public holiday pay confusing. This guide covers the essentials so you can process payroll with confidence.
Who gets paid for a public holiday?
If a public holiday falls on a day your employee would normally work, they're entitled to be paid for that day – even if they don't work.
✅ If they don't work: They receive their normal daily pay (known as relevant daily pay), which includes allowances and bonuses.
✅ If they do work: They must be paid at least time-and-a-half for the hours worked, plus a paid day off to be taken later (an alternative holiday) – but only if the day is normally a working day for them.
Example:
Sarah usually works Mondays. Easter Monday is a public holiday.
If she takes the day off, she still gets paid her normal wage.
If she works, she must be paid at least 1.5x her normal rate, and she gets another paid day off to use later.
What if a public holiday falls on a non-workday?
If the public holiday falls on a day your employee doesn't normally work, they don't get paid for it. However, if they do work that day, they're still entitled to time-and-a-half – but no alternative holiday.
Transferring a public holiday
Some businesses prefer to shift a public holiday to another date. This is called a transferred public holiday, and it must be agreed in writing between you and your employee. The new date then becomes their public holiday for payroll purposes.
When public holidays fall during leave
Things can get confusing if a holiday falls when employees are already on leave. Here's what applies:
Annual leave
If a public holiday falls during annual leave on what would normally be a working day, it doesn't count as annual leave. The employee gets paid for the public holiday instead, and their annual leave balance is preserved.
Sick or bereavement leave
If an employee is on sick or bereavement leave on a public holiday, they get paid for the public holiday – it doesn’t get taken from their leave balance.
Plan ahead for smooth payroll processing
April is one of the busiest months for public holidays in the NZ calendar – Good Friday, Easter Monday, and ANZAC Day all fall within the same month. If this year felt like all you were doing was checking and double-checking payroll, now’s the time to check things are set up correctly for future public holidays.
Confirm who is working and who isn't.
Make sure your payroll system is calculating time-and-a-half and alternative holidays correctly – don't assume the default settings are right.
Let your team know how public holiday pay works so there are no surprises on payday.
Mistakes with public holiday pay can be costly, and in my experience they're often not picked up until they've compounded over time. A little preparation now goes a long way.
If you're unsure whether your payroll is handling public holidays correctly, I'm always happy to take a look.
Updated April 2026 | Originally published January 2025
About the author
Karyn Campbell is a New Zealand payroll consultant and founder of Payroll Consult. With 5+ years running her own consultancy and a background in payroll software – including roles across client support, onboarding, and partnership management at a leading NZ payroll provider – Karyn brings a rare combination of technical knowledge and real-world compliance experience. She works with business owners, bookkeepers, and payroll teams across New Zealand, specialising in payroll audits, system reviews, and fixing complex payroll issues for teams that don’t work a typical 9-5.
