Public Holidays in New Zealand - National Public Holidays

National Public Holidays

In New Zealand there are two types of national public holidays, those that are 'Mondayised' and those that are not.

Christmas and New Year are "Mondayised" holidays, so if these fall on a weekend that employee does not normally work then the holiday is transferred to the following Monday or Tuesday. If the employee would normally work on the particular weekend then it remains a traditional holiday and the employee is entitled to that day off on pay. If they normally work on both days, they are only entitled to the traditional holiday and the Mondayised holiday is treated as a normal work day. Other public holidays are only taken on the day they fall and only employees who would have otherwise worked that day are entitled to a paid day off.

All workers who work on a public holiday must be both paid time-and-a-half and given an alternative holiday (known as a day in lieu). Payment for the alternative holiday is equivalent relevant daily pay for the particular alternative day taken, had they have worked it.

While shops may trade on most public holidays, there are special trading restrictions on Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and before 1pm on ANZAC Day. On those days, generally only dairies, petrol stations, pharmacies, restaurants and cafes, and shops within an airport or train station may open. In recent years there have been deliberate violations of these trading restrictions on Good Friday by garden centres (previously, garden centres were exempt from these restrictions.)

In tourist towns, such as Queenstown in the South Island, some exemptions are granted by the district council for selected shops to open on Good Friday. The reason is to keep up the level of service to the tourists, as many would not know the shops will be closed on that day. However, liquor sale is restricted for some of that day (not usually a problem because shops are usually closed on that day).