Make your annual leave go further in 2027: the best days to book in NZ

The 2027 public holidays

These are Employment New Zealand's dates for 2027, with the Matariki date set in the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022. Five fall on a weekend, and the right-hand column shows the day you get instead if you do not normally work that weekend day.

The moved days depend on you, not the calendar. Under sections 45 and 45A of the Holidays Act 2003, a holiday that falls on a weekend stays on the weekend if that would otherwise be a working day for you, and moves to the Monday, or the Tuesday for Boxing Day in 2027, if it would not. You never get both. Everything below assumes you work Monday to Friday; if you work weekends or shifts, count your own days the same way. Calculate keeps the full list of NZ public holidays, and your regional anniversary day adds one more.

Waitangi Day is the first chance. It falls on Saturday 6 February and is observed on Monday 8 February, so booking Tuesday 9 to Friday 12 February, 4 days of leave, gives you Saturday 6 to Sunday 14 February off: 9 days.

Easter and Anzac Day

Good Friday is 26 March and Easter Monday is 29 March, so Easter is a four-day weekend before you book anything. Easter Sunday is not a public holiday, but for a Monday to Friday worker it is a weekend day anyway.

• Book Tuesday 30 March to Friday 2 April, 4 days of leave, and you are off from Friday 26 March to Sunday 4 April: 10 days.
• Book the week before instead, Monday 22 to Thursday 25 March, and you are off from Saturday 20 to Monday 29 March: also 10 days.
• Book both weeks, 8 days of leave, and you are off from Saturday 20 March to Sunday 4 April: 16 days.

Anzac Day is Sunday 25 April. If you do not normally work Sundays, your holiday is Monday 26 April. Book Tuesday 27 to Friday 30 April, 4 days, and you are off from Saturday 24 April to Sunday 2 May: 9 days. Easter Monday and the Anzac Monday are four weeks apart, so most people pick one or the other rather than spend 19 days of leave joining them.

Matariki, King's Birthday and Labour Day

King's Birthday is Monday 7 June. Book Tuesday 8 to Friday 11 June, 4 days, and you are off from Saturday 5 to Sunday 13 June: 9 days.

Matariki is Friday 25 June, set in Schedule 1 of the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022. Book Monday 21 to Thursday 24 June, 4 days, and you are off from Saturday 19 to Sunday 27 June: 9 days. The two holidays are only 18 days apart. Joining them, Saturday 5 to Sunday 27 June, is 23 days off for 13 days of leave, which suits a long trip but is most of your year's leave.

Labour Day is Monday 25 October. Book Tuesday 26 to Friday 29 October, 4 days, and you are off from Saturday 23 to Sunday 31 October: 9 days.

Christmas and New Year

The coming break first. Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday and Boxing Day a Saturday, which moves to Monday 28 December; New Year's Day 2027 is a Friday and 2 January a Saturday, which moves to Monday 4 January. Book Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 December 2026, 3 days, and you are off from Friday 25 December to Monday 4 January: 11 days.

The end of 2027 works the same way. Christmas Day is a Saturday and Boxing Day a Sunday, so they move to Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December. New Year's Day 2028 is a Saturday and 2 January a Sunday, so under the same rule they move to Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 January 2028; Employment New Zealand had not published its 2028 dates on 6 October 2026, so check them when it does. Book Wednesday 29 to Friday 31 December, 3 days, and you are off from Saturday 25 December to Tuesday 4 January: 11 days. Add Wednesday 5 to Friday 7 January, 6 days in all, and the break runs to Sunday 9 January: 16 days.

Many workplaces close over Christmas and require staff to take annual leave for it, with at least 14 days' notice. If yours does, these days may be chosen for you, but public holidays inside a closedown still are not taken from your leave.

Your regional anniversary day

Each region has its own anniversary day, usually observed on the Monday nearest the actual date, with some local exceptions. You get one a year, normally for the province where you usually work. Employment New Zealand lists them on its public holidays and anniversary dates page, and says to check with your local council because the list may contain errors. A few that stretch a break in 2027:

• Auckland, Monday 1 February. Waitangi Day is observed a week later, on Monday 8 February. Book Tuesday 2 to Friday 5 February, 4 days, and you are off from Saturday 30 January to Monday 8 February: 10 days.
• Southland, Tuesday 30 March, the day after Easter Monday. Book Wednesday 31 March to Friday 2 April, 3 days, and you are off from Good Friday to Sunday 4 April: 10 days.
• Hawke's Bay, Friday 22 October, the Friday before Labour Day. With the same 4 days after Labour Day booked, you are off from Friday 22 to Sunday 31 October: 10 days.

Wellington's is Monday 25 January, and North and Central Canterbury's, Christchurch Show Day, is Friday 12 November: each a three-day weekend with no leave at all.

Booking it and keeping track

None of this works without agreement. Section 18 says when you take annual holidays is agreed between you and your employer, and your employer must not unreasonably refuse. You can choose to take at least two weeks in a row. Popular weeks can fill up, so ask early and in writing.

Four weeks of annual holidays is 20 days if you work five days a week. Public holidays inside your leave do not come off it, because section 40 treats a public holiday during your leave as a public holiday, which is why the tables count only the days you book. You cannot do every break on 20 days: Easter, Anzac Day, Labour Day and Christmas alone take 15, which leaves 5. Calculate's annual leave calculator works out your balance and holiday pay. All of 2027 falls under the Holidays Act. From 6 August 2028 the Employment Leave Act 2026 replaces it and counts annual leave in hours; our guide to leave in New Zealand sets out the rules that apply until then.

A plan only works if you know what you have. The Leave section of Your Career keeps the annual leave balance from your latest payslip, with its date, and records each day you book or take, so you can see what is left once a break is booked. It does not know public holiday dates or plan leave for you, so count the days with this article and enter what you book. It counts in days under the Holidays Act and is a cross-check on your payslip, never a replacement.

Never guess your balance