EASTER AND ANZAC
PUBLIC HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENTS

includes special information for retailers

The information below will help employers and employees understand public holiday entitlements over Easter and ANZAC. It also explains entitlements on restricted shop trading days, when most retail stores are expected to remain closed.

Which days are holidays?

Below is a list of the paid public holidays over Easter and Anzac Day.

How to decide an employee’s public holiday entitlement

The flow chart below provides a quick guide to who should be paid what, and who is entitled to an alternative day off. For more detailed information see our Holidays Online Tool (http://www.ers.govt.nz/holidays-online-tool/default.aspx). Make sure you have payroll information or a payslip handy when you use the tool.

How to decide if the holiday is a normal working day for an employee

this isn’t clear, the employer and employee should look at several factors, including:

• The employment agreement
• The employee’s work patterns
• Other relevant factors. These might include whether the employee works only when work is available, whether the employee works rosters, and the reasonable expectation of employer and employee that the employee would work on the day concerned.

If the employee and employer can’t agree, a Labour Inspector can decide the matter taking the same issues into consideration.

What to do about shifts

If any part of a rostered shift falls on a public holiday, this is treated as working on a public holiday the employee would normally work. If part of another shift falls on the same day, the employee still only receives one alternative holiday. Employers and employees may agree to transfer the observance of public holidays to different days. Those days may be defined, by agreement, as any continuous period of 24 hours.

SPECIAL INFORMATION FOR RETAILERS AND RETAIL WORKERS

Employee entitlements on restricted shop trading days

The Shop Trading Act Repeal Act 1990 stops many, but not all, shops from trading on three and a half days a year.

Two and a half of these days – Good Friday, Christmas Day and Anzac day until 1pm - fall on public holidays under the Holidays Act 2003.

Employees who work or would normally work on these days have paid holiday entitlements. You can calculate these using the flow chart and information above.

Employee entitlements on Easter Sunday

The third restricted trading day, Easter Sunday, doesn’t fall on a public holiday.

One of four things can happen to employees whose workplaces must close on Easter Sunday:

1. An employer may give an employee 14 days notice to take a day of annual holiday owing to them on the Easter Sunday.
2. The employee’s employment contract or agreement may spell out whether or not the employee will be paid, or if they will undertake alternative duties that day.
3. An employer and employee may agree to transfer a public holiday to which the employee is entitled to Easter Sunday.
4. If none of the above is agreed to, the employee may have a claim for wages owed if they cannot work through no fault of their own. In this instance, an employee who does not receive pay may attempt to recover money they believe they’re owed by lodging a recovery of wages claim with the Employment Relations Authority.

For more information, visit the Department of Labour website (www.dol.govt.nz) or call 0800 20 90 20.