Mondayisation in New Zealand shifts certain public holidays if they fall on a Saturday or Sunday to the following Monday (or Tuesday) for employees who do not usually work weekends. The idea being that ideally every employee gets the benefit of that particular public holiday.
There are six specific public holidays that get Mondayised in this respect:
- Christmas Day (25 December)
- Boxing Day (26 December)
- New Year’s Day (1 January)
- Day after New Year’s Day (2 January)
- Waitangi Day (6 February)
- ANZAC Day (25 April)
Mondayisation only occurs for staff who don't normally work on the calendar day of the public holiday in question.
For example; this year the recent public holiday Anzac day fell on Saturday April 25th. If an employee works Monday to Friday, Anzac day got moved to Monday 27th. However, if the employee normally works a Saturday, the public holiday remains on the Saturday.
A public holiday can only be recognised once for an employee. So in the above example if the employee works both the Saturday and the Monday, the Saturday would be recognised as the public holiday and Monday would be a normal day.
Public holidays are recognised for all staff from day one of employment.
Working on public holidays
Employees may work on public holidays if agreed. Generally if an employer requires staff to work on public holidays they will include a clause to this effect in the employment agreement.
Payment
If staff do not work on a public holiday and it is an otherwise working day from them, they should be paid relevant daily pay (RDP). RDP is the figure the employee would have been paid had they worked. For staff who work variable hours then average daily pay may be used.
If an employee does work on a public holiday they must be paid at least time and a half for the hours actually worked. They also might be eligible for an alternative holiday (day in lieu).
Day in lieu (alternative holiday)
A day in lieu is only required in the circumstance where an employee works a public holiday which is an otherwise working day for them. The concept is that if that public holiday is not an otherwise working day for them they obviously agreed to work and as such are not entitled to an alternative holiday.
Alternative holidays may be paid out to employees after 12 months of the entitlement. This does not count against an employee's quota of cashing out up to 1 weeks' annual leave per year.
Casual employees generally don't qualify for days in lieu, as a true casual employee does not have regular days thus there is no such thing as an otherwise working day for a casual employee. They still must be paid at 1.5x their normal rate if worked, but wouldn't usually get a day in lieu. However, if it can be demonstrated that the casual normally works on the day in question then an alternative holiday should be provided also.
Annual Leave
If an employee is on annual leave when a public holiday lands, the public holiday should be recognised and the employee should not be deducted annual leave on that day. The same applies for sick or bereavement leave.
Transferring public holidays
Parties can agree to recognise a public holiday on a different date. Both parties have to agree, one cannot force the other, and it should be done in writing. All the usual rules apply as above including an alternative holiday.
All the above information and more is included in our Holidays Leave eBook in your
Employers Toolbox. As usual if you need clarity on your scenario please contact our legal team on
info@employers.co.nz.