Easter can be a busy time in Hospitality - both for workers and most employers. 

You need to know when you have to work public holidays, what you should get paid and when you can get a paid holiday -  because there are special rules about pay and getting time off. 

Click below to go to the specific information you need:

(Note that the information below is based on the legal minimums required. Some collective employment agreements have better pay and conditions for public holidays - check your own employment agreement).

 

  

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2023 Easter Holidays

Good Friday - 7th April

If you normally work Fridays then this is a public holiday for you – whether you actually work it or not.

If you don’t normally work Fridays then you are not entitled to a public holiday on this day.

(click here to see how you work out if you "normally work" on any day of the week)

If you actually work on Good Friday you should get time and half for any hours worked.

Easter Saturday - 8th April

This is not a public holiday. Your pay and requirement to work is the same as for any other Saturday.

Easter Sunday - 9th April

This is not a public holiday. There is no holiday if Sunday is a normal working day and pay is the same as any other Sunday.

HOWEVER - there are special rules that give workers the right to refuse to work on this day if they choose. 

If your employer wants you to work on Easter Sunday they need to have informed you in writing before 12th March and given you the opportunity to opt out of working by replying to them within 14 days.

If you decide not to work then you will only be paid for that day if you take annual leave or an alternate holiday, otherwise it will be unpaid leave.

 

Easter Monday - 10th April

If you normally work Mondays then this is a public holiday for you – whether you actually work it or not.

If you don’t normally work Mondays then you are not entitled to a public holiday on this day.

(click here to see how you work out if you "normally work" on any day of the week)

If you actually work on Easter Monday you should get time and half for any hours worked - regardless of whether you normally work Mondays.

ANZAC Day - Tuesday 25th April

If you normally work Tuesdays then this is a public holiday for you – whether you actually work it or not.

If you don’t normally work Tuesdays then you are not entitled to a public holiday on this day.

(click here to see how you work out if you "normally work" on any day of the week)

If you actually work on ANZAC day you should get time and half for any hours worked - regardless of whether you normally work Tuesdays.

 

 

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Getting paid for working a public holiday

If you work on a public holiday then you usually get extra pay.

You should get at least “time and a half”: that is your normal hourly pay plus 50%. If your normal rate is $23 per hour, then any work on a public holiday should be paid at $36 an hour. Multiply your normal hourly rate by 1.5 to get your public holiday minimum rate.

This would include any time worked after midnight for a shift that started the day before the holiday. So if you are working Thursday 6th April and finish at 2am on Good Friday then the two hours from midnight need to paid at least as “time and a half”.

 The only exceptions are if you previously agreed to transfer your public holiday to another day altogether, or if you are entitled to some other penal rates and you would be paid more than time and half anyway. These exceptions  will not apply to most hospo workers.

 

 

  

 

 

Getting a paid day off

Where a public holiday falls on a day of the week that you normally work (known as “otherwise a working day “ in the law) then you are entitled to a paid day off – either on the public holiday itself or on another day (which are called “alternate holidays” or sometimes “lieu days”). This is to make sure you do actually get a day off, even if it is later because you have to work on a public holiday.

If you work the same days each week then it is easy to figure out. But many workers have rosters that change week to week and that makes it a bit harder to know. Your employment agreement may actually state how to work out if a day is “otherwise a working day” – but most don’t.

Some employers think that only the few weeks immediately before a public holiday need to be considered – this is wrong.  Normally work doesn’t mean you have to work that day every week all the time. If your rostered days can change week to week then a good rule of thumb is whether or not you have worked a majority of those weekdays in the months leading up to the public holiday.

For example,  on Easter Monday if you have worked eight of the previous twelve Mondays before Easter: 

  • You work on Easter Monday: you should be paid time and a half AND you should get an alternative holiday – a paid day off you can take later after agreeing on a date with your employer.

  • You don’t work on Easter Monday: You should be paid what you would have been paid normally (not time and a half – you only get that if you work on the day – but rather your “relevant daily pay”  or “average daily pay” if your hours and pay vary a lot week to week). 

You could also look at the previous month (three out of four days worked should qualify as a normal working day) or the previous two months (five or more out of eight or nine weeks) or even the previous six months. If you worked more than half of those weekdays for any of those periods then that weekday is “otherwise a working day” for you.

If you don’t get public holiday pay or an alternate holiday when you think you should have. ask your employer to check with their payroll person that they have got it right. The Employment New Zealand website has good tools for employers to use to make sure they get it right.

Any time worked on a public holiday will mean you get a whole day’s extra leave if it is a normal working day. So two hours worked on Good Friday will be paid at time and a half and result in a whole days paid holiday – even though you only worked two hours on the public holiday (or one hour or even ten minutes).

So make sure the exact times you started and finished work on or around public holidays are accurately recorded. Keeping your own records is a good idea – mobile phones are great tools for this.

 

 

 

 

When do you have to work on a public holiday?

Many businesses are open on public holidays as they are usually some of the busiest trading days of the year. That means many workers have employment agreements that state they have to work public holidays if required, as long as they are on a day they are normally available for work.

If your agreement does not state that you have to work public holidays then it is your choice whether to work if asked. 

So, if you never work Mondays and your employer knows you are not available on Mondays, you do not have to work on a public holiday that falls on a Monday unless you want to.

If you are normally available to work Mondays when needed and your agreement states you are required to work public holidays then you would need to work that public holiday if asked.

You can, of course, still apply for leave if you want the day off, but your employer does not have to approve it. Because it likely to be a busy day in many businesses a refusal of leave will generally be considered justified. 

If you are allowed leave on a public holiday it should be paid at your normal rate – you can’t be made to use annual or other paid leave.

If a public holiday falls on a day you don’t normally work then it simply does not apply to you at all - but you do not have to work that day if you don't wish to.

Remember - even though Easter Sunday is not a public holiday you should have had the opportunity to refuse to work if you choose.  

 

 

  

Links to other information on Public Holidays

All public holidays in Aotearoa listed

Information for you and your employer about how to work out if you are entitled to an alternate holiday