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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.
How to use this tool
- Answer whether the day is an otherwise working day. If you're not sure, the otherwise working day calculator will tell you, including for Mondayised holidays.
- Say whether the employee worked any part of the day, or was rostered on but sick or bereaved.
- Choose RDP or ADP. If you can work out what the employee would have earned on the day, that is their relevant daily pay and you must use it. Average daily pay is only allowed when RDP can't be determined, or the employee's daily pay varies within the pay period the holiday falls in.
- Enter the numbers to get the minimum amount payable and whether an alternative holiday is owed.
The four outcomes, in one table
| Otherwise working day? | Worked? | Pay | Alternative holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | RDP (or ADP) for the day | No |
| Yes | Yes, any part | At least 1.5 × RDP/ADP portion for hours worked | Yes, a whole day |
| No | Yes | At least 1.5 × RDP/ADP portion for hours worked | No |
| No | No | Nothing | No |
Relevant daily pay vs average daily pay
Relevant daily pay (RDP) is the amount the employee would have received had they worked on the day. It includes productivity or incentive payments, overtime they would have worked, and the cash value of board or lodgings. It is the default.
Average daily pay (ADP) is an alternative: the employee's gross earnings for the 52 calendar weeks before the end of the last pay period, divided by the number of whole or part days they worked (including days on paid leave or holidays) in that period. You may only use ADP when it is not possible or practicable to determine RDP, or when the employee's daily pay varies within the pay period in which the holiday falls.
A casual employee can have irregular hours and still have a determinable RDP. If the roster shows they were going to work six hours on the public holiday, you can calculate what they would have earned, so RDP applies. Switching everyone with variable hours to ADP is a common shortcut and, in many cases, an underpayment.
Time and a half
For time actually worked on a public holiday the employee must be paid the greater of (a) the portion of RDP (or ADP, if it applies) that relates to the time worked plus half that amount again, or (b) the portion of RDP that relates to the time worked plus any penal rate in the employment agreement for that day. Time and a half is a floor, not a ceiling.
Alternative holidays
An employee who works on a public holiday that was an otherwise working day earns an alternative holiday, a whole working day off on pay, even if they only worked two hours. It is taken on a date agreed with the employer (or set by the employer on reasonable notice of at least 14 days), paid at RDP or ADP for that day, and can be exchanged for cash only at the employee's request, only after 12 months, and only if the employer agrees. Unused alternative holidays are paid out when employment ends.
All of this is covered in more depth, with examples, in How employment leave works in NZ.
More free NZ leave tools
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.
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.
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.