Public holiday pay calculator: time and a half and your day off
Work any part of a public holiday and you are paid at least time and a half for the hours you work. If it was a day you would normally work, you also get an alternative holiday: a whole paid day off to take later. Choose the holiday, type your shift and rate, and the calculator works out both.
Worked out for the example. Change the boxes to make it yours.
| Hours worked on the holiday | 8 hours |
|---|---|
| At your usual rate ($26.50) | $212.00 |
| Time and a half ($39.75 an hour) | $318.00 |
| Pay for the hours you worked, at least | $318.00 |
| Alternative holiday (a paid day off) | Yes, one whole day |
| The day off is worth about (8 hours at $26.50) | $212.00 |
| Working the holiday is worth, with the day off | $530.00 |
- The alternative holiday is a whole day off whatever hours you worked on the holiday, taken on a day you would normally work, and paid at what you would have earned that day.
- From 6 August 2028, under the Employment Leave Act 2026, alternative leave builds up hour for hour worked instead of being a whole day.
Free on every plan. Your account adds the shift on the holiday's date to Your Timesheets, after asking, noted as a public holiday so the day off owed is not forgotten.
Time and a half for every hour you work
Section 50 of the Holidays Act 2003 says that if you work any part of a public holiday, your employer must pay you the greater of two amounts: your relevant daily pay for the time you worked, without any penal rates, plus half that amount again; or your relevant daily pay for that time including your agreement's penal rates. In practice that is at least time and a half, and more if your agreement has a better public holiday rate. Relevant daily pay is what you would have earned that day, including regular allowances and overtime, so the calculator's figure from your hourly rate is the floor. It applies to every employee, casual or permanent, whatever day of the week the holiday falls on.
When you also get a day off
Under section 56 you are owed an alternative holiday if the public holiday fell on a day that would otherwise be a working day for you and you worked any part of it. Section 57 makes it a whole working day off, however few hours you worked on the holiday, taken on a day agreed with your employer that you would normally work. Section 60 says it is paid at least your relevant daily pay or average daily pay for the day you take off. You are not owed one if the holiday was not a normal working day for you, or if you are employed only to work public holidays. Whether a day is an otherwise working day turns on your agreement and your usual pattern of work.
Weekend holidays and the dates
New Year's Day, the day after, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Waitangi Day and Anzac Day move to a Monday (or a Tuesday after Christmas and New Year) when they fall on a weekend, but only for people who do not normally work that weekend day. If you do, your holiday is the weekend day itself. The list has Employment New Zealand's 2026 and 2027 dates, including Matariki on Friday 10 July 2026 and Friday 25 June 2027. Regional anniversary days are public holidays too: choose another date for yours.
What changes from 6 August 2028
The Employment Leave Act 2026 replaces the Holidays Act on 6 August 2028. Working a public holiday will then be paid at your agreement's rate plus at least half your ordinary hourly rate again, and alternative leave will build up hour for hour worked instead of being a whole day. Until then, the rules above apply. Our article on the Employment Leave Act 2026 covers the rest of the changes.
Questions
Do I get time and a half on a public holiday in NZ?
Yes. If you work any part of a public holiday, you are paid at least time and a half for the time you work (Holidays Act 2003, section 50), or your agreement's public holiday rate if that is higher.
Do I get a day in lieu for working a public holiday?
You get an alternative holiday, often called a day in lieu, if the holiday fell on a day you would normally work. It is a whole paid day off, even if you only worked two hours on the holiday.
I'm casual. Do I get time and a half on a public holiday?
Yes. Time and a half applies to every employee who works a public holiday. Whether you also get an alternative holiday depends on whether you would otherwise have worked that day, which for casual work depends on your usual pattern.
When is Matariki in 2026 and 2027?
Employment New Zealand lists Matariki as Friday 10 July 2026 and Friday 25 June 2027.
What if my shift goes past midnight?
Only the hours on the public holiday itself, from midnight to midnight, are paid at time and a half, unless you and your employer agree in writing to treat a 24-hour period covering the shift as the holiday (Holidays Act 2003, section 44A).
What happens when I save this?
Your account adds the shift to Your Timesheets on the holiday's date, after asking, with a note that it was a public holiday and whether an alternative holiday is owed. Logging hours is free on every plan.
Sources
- Holidays Act 2003, sections 44A to 61: public holidays and alternative holidays.
- Employment New Zealand: public holiday pay.
- Employment New Zealand: alternative holidays.
- Employment New Zealand: public holidays and anniversary dates.
- Employment Leave Act 2026, in force 6 August 2028.
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