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NZ Public Holiday Decision Tree
The complete public holiday check in one interactive tree: which date the holiday falls on for the employee (Mondayisation), then time and a half, alternative holidays, RDP or ADP, with the path shown.
How to use it
- Pick the public holiday (region, year, holiday). Because the name and weekday are known, the first questions answer themselves and the path lights up to the first question that needs you.
- Answer whether the calendar date is an otherwise working day for the employee. Not sure? The link opens the OWD calculator in a new tab and your answers here are kept.
- If the holiday was Mondayised or Tuesdayised, answer whether the new observed date is an otherwise working day. This step only appears when it applies.
- Say whether the employee worked on the observed date. If it was an otherwise working day you can also pick the special cases: on call but not called in, or on leave. Then, if asked, say whether their relevant daily pay can be determined.
- Read the result on the highlighted node and in the summary. Optional: enter the rate and hours to get the dollar amount. Change any earlier answer to re-route, or press Reset.
Questions unlock in order. Drag the canvas to move around, scroll or pinch to zoom, and tap any underlined term for its definition.
What this tool is for
Every public holiday question in New Zealand reduces to the same chain of decisions, and most payroll mistakes come from answering them in the wrong order or skipping one. This tool walks the chain the way the Holidays Act 2003 does, one node at a time, and shows you the path so you can check it, print it or explain it to an employee.
Stage 1: which date is the holiday for this employee?
Six national holidays move when they fall on a weekend, but only for employees who would not otherwise have worked that weekend day. Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and 2 January move to the following Monday from a Saturday and the following Tuesday from a Sunday. Waitangi Day and Anzac Day move to the following Monday from either weekend day. Every other public holiday, including regional anniversary days, stays on its calendar date. The output of Stage 1 is the observed date for this employee, and it is the date every Stage 2 answer refers to.
Stage 2: what is owed on the observed date?
| Observed date is an otherwise working day? | Employee worked it? | Result |
|---|---|---|
| No | No | Public holiday entitlements do not apply |
| No | Yes | Time and a half for the hours worked |
| Yes | Yes | Time and a half for the hours worked, plus an alternative holiday |
| Yes | No | Paid for the day: RDP if it can be determined, otherwise ADP |
| Yes | On call, not called in | If the restrictions meant no real holiday, an alternative holiday is still owed; either way, pay for the day at RDP or ADP |
| Yes | On leave (sick, bereavement, family violence or annual) | Treated as the public holiday: paid for the day at RDP or ADP, nothing deducted from any leave balance, no time and a half, no alternative holiday |
Worked examples
- Christmas Day 2027 (Saturday), Monday-to-Friday employee, doesn't work. It is one of the Christmas group and lands on a Saturday. Saturday is not an otherwise working day, so it is Mondayised: the observed date is Monday 27 December. The Monday is an otherwise working day and the employee doesn't work it, so pay RDP for the day.
- Christmas Day 2027 (Saturday), café worker who normally works Saturdays and works it. Saturday is an otherwise working day, so the holiday stays on Saturday 25 December. They worked it: time and a half for the hours worked plus a whole alternative holiday.
- Anzac Day 2026 (Saturday), employee who never works weekends but is asked to work it. Waitangi/ANZAC rule, weekend, not an otherwise working day: Mondayised to Monday 27 April. If the Monday is an otherwise working day and they worked the Saturday but not the Monday: pay RDP for the Monday. The Saturday work is paid at their ordinary rate, because for this employee the public holiday is the Monday.
- King’s Birthday, Monday-to-Friday nurse kept on call all day but never called in. Not a Mondayisable holiday, so it stays on the Monday. The Monday is an otherwise working day. Choose “On call, not called in”. If she had to stay within 20 minutes of the hospital and sober all day, an alternative holiday is owed, and she is paid RDP for the day.
- Labour Day, casual employee with no pattern who didn't work. Stays on the calendar date. Apply the 13-week lookback: fewer than 50% of the last 13 Mondays worked means it is not an otherwise working day, and with no work done there is no entitlement.
- Moving a weekend holiday to the Monday for everyone, including staff who normally work weekends.
- Paying time and a half on the Monday when the employee actually worked the Saturday that was their observed holiday, or vice versa.
- Giving a half-day alternative holiday because only part of the day was worked. It is always a whole day.
- Defaulting to average daily pay for casuals when the roster made relevant daily pay perfectly determinable.
The rules behind the tree
Stage 1 is the Mondayisation and Tuesdayisation rules. The first Stage 2 question is the otherwise working day test. Time and a half applies to any work on a public holiday, and an alternative holiday is earned only when the day was an otherwise working day. The final question is the choice between relevant daily pay and average daily pay, where ADP is only permitted if RDP can’t be determined or the employee’s daily pay varies within the pay period. The on-call branch reflects that an employee called in and working is simply “Yes” to the work question, while an employee kept on call but never called in still earns an alternative holiday if the restrictions were so significant that they did not really have a holiday. If an employee takes any type of leave on the public holiday, nothing is deducted from their leave balance: even if you asked them to work and they called in sick, the day is treated as though they are simply on the public holiday. Both special cases only arise where the observed date was an otherwise working day, which is why they only appear on that side of the tree. The full explanation, with examples, is in How employment leave works in NZ.
Frequently asked questions
What does the NZ public holiday decision tree work out?
Two things. Stage 1 works out which date a public holiday is treated as falling on for a particular employee, applying the Mondayisation and Tuesdayisation rules in the Holidays Act 2003. Stage 2 works out what the employee is owed on that observed date: nothing, time and a half, time and a half plus an alternative holiday, relevant daily pay or average daily pay.
Why does the tool ask whether the calendar date is an otherwise working day before it asks about the Monday?
Because that is how the Act works. A weekend public holiday only moves to the Monday or Tuesday for employees who would not otherwise have worked on the Saturday or Sunday. An employee who normally works Saturdays keeps Christmas Day on the Saturday. Only once the observed date is known can you work out entitlements on it.
Does the decision tree apply to regional anniversary days?
Yes for Stage 2. In Stage 1 an anniversary day always remains on its calendar date, because the Mondayisation sections only cover Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, 2 January, Waitangi Day and Anzac Day.
Can I use average daily pay whenever an employee has variable hours?
No. Relevant daily pay is the default. Average daily pay is only allowed when it is not possible or practicable to work out relevant daily pay, or when the employee's daily pay varies within the pay period the holiday falls in. Variable hours alone do not qualify.
More free NZ leave tools
NZ public holidays by region
Pick your region and year to see every public holiday that applies to you, with Mondayised and Tuesdayised dates clearly flagged.
Otherwise working day calculator
Enter an employee's work pattern (or their last 13 weeks) and a date or public holiday. Find out whether it is an otherwise working day and what they are entitled to.
Public holiday pay calculator
Answer three questions and get the exact entitlement: time and a half, alternative holiday, relevant daily pay or average daily pay — with the dollar amount.
NZ leave calculator
Work out annual leave, sick leave and alternative holidays owing for an employee under the Holidays Act.
Want the rules behind the tool? Read the guides in Employment Leave New Zealand.
These tools are general information, not legal advice, and they assume the Holidays Act 2003 as it applies today. Your employment agreements and any company policy may give more than the minimum. Check specific situations with Employment New Zealand or an employment lawyer.