# When a public holiday falls on a weekend Official source: https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/public-holidays/when-a-public-holiday-falls-on-a-weekend Scanned: 2026-06-07T03:31:31.402Z Use this as a current official guidance reference, not as a substitute for legal advice. ## Page Text Home Leave and holidays Public holidays When a public holiday falls on a weekend Public holidays Leave and holidays Public holidays Public holidays and anniversary dates Previous years: Public holidays and anniversary dates Managing public holidays as an employer Public holidays rights for employees Transferring a public holiday Alternative holidays When a public holiday falls on a weekend Restricted trading days for shops Working and trading on Easter Sunday Annual holidays Sick leave Bereavement leave Parental leave Family violence leave Jury service leave Employment Relations Education leave Time off to vote Defence force volunteers Other types of leave Everyone When a public holiday falls on a weekend When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, an employee’s public holiday may be moved to the following Monday – or in some cases Tuesday. What is Mondayisation? Some public holidays An observed day of national, religious, or cultural significance. Special payment rates and entitlements apply to public holidays. fall on a specific day of the week – for example, Labour Day is always on a Monday, and Matariki is observed on a Friday. Other public holidays are linked to calendar dates, so the day of the week on which they are celebrated can change. These are: New Year’s Day (1 January) the day after New Year’s Day (2 January) Waitangi Day (6 February) ANZAC Day (25 April) Christmas Day (25 December), and Boxing Day (26 December). When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, for the benefit of those who do not normally work on the weekend, it is moved to the following Monday (or in some cases Tuesday). This is called ‘ Mondayisation When a public holiday which falls on a Saturday or Sunday is moved to the following Monday (or in some cases Tuesday). ’. Public holidays and anniversary dates What this means for employees If an employee Any person, whatever their age, who is employed by an employer to do any work for hire or reward under a ‘contract of service’ (commonly called an ‘employment agreement’). normally works: Monday to Friday, the public holiday will be ‘Mondayised’ and their public holiday entitlements will apply to the Monday (or Tuesday) following the calendar date of the public holiday on the day of the public holiday’s calendar date, their public holiday entitlements apply to the calendar date on both the calendar date of the public holiday and the Mondayisation date, their public holiday is on the calendar date; they do not get two public holidays. If the employee does not have a clear work pattern, or there is a lot of variation in their work times, they will need to agree with their employer if a public holiday is a day they would otherwise be working. Otherwise working day Mondayisation does not affect shop trading restrictions – these always apply on the calendar date of the holiday. Restricted shop trading days Find out if a public holiday is mondayised Answer each question below to find out if a public holiday is mondayised for an employee. Employee entitlements The scenarios below show the minimum entitlements for an employee when a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday. This table shows the minimum entitlements for a public holiday falling on a Saturday. Check employment agreements for any extra entitlements. Does the employee normally work Saturday? Does the employee normally work Monday? Minimum entitlement No Yes Holiday is Mondayised. If the employee worked on Saturday but not Monday: The employee would be paid their normal rate for working Saturday. They would be provided a paid day off on Monday and would be paid their relevant daily pay The amount an employee would have been paid if they’d worked on a public holiday, alternative holiday, or on a day they took sick leave, family violence leave or bereavement leave. or average daily pay The daily average of the employee’s total gross earnings over the past 52 weeks. . They will not get an alternative holiday. A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day. If the employee worked on Monday but not Saturday: They would be paid time and half for working on Monday and get an alternative holiday for working Monday. If they worked both days: They would be paid their normal rate for working Saturday and time and a half for working Monday. They would also get an alternative holiday for working Monday. If they worked neither day: They would get a paid day off on Monday and be paid their relevant daily pay or average daily pay. No No Holiday is Mondayised. If they worked on Saturday but not Monday: They would be paid their normal rate for working Saturday. They would not get an alternative holiday. If they worked on Monday but not Saturday: They would be paid time and a half for working Monday. They would not get an alternative holiday. If they worked both days: They would be paid their normal rate for working Saturday and time and a half for working Monday. They would not get an alternative holiday. If they worked neither day: They would not get any public holiday related payment for Saturday or Monday, or an alternative holiday. Yes Yes Holiday is not Mondayised. If they worked on Saturday but not Monday: They would be paid time and a half for working Saturday and get an alternative holiday A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day. for working Saturday. They would not get any public holiday-related payment for Monday. If they worked on Monday but not Saturday: They would be paid their relevant daily pay The amount an employee would have been paid if they’d worked on a public holiday, alternative holiday, or on a day they took sick leave, family violence leave or bereavement leave. or average daily pay The daily average of the employee’s total gross earnings over the past 52 weeks. for a day off on Saturday and be paid their normal rate for working Monday. If they worked both days: They would be paid time and a half for working Saturday and get an alternative holiday. They would be paid their normal rate for working Monday. If they worked neither day: They would be paid their relevant daily pay or average daily pay for a day off on Saturday. Yes No Holiday is not Mondayised. If they worked on Saturday but not Monday: They would be paid time and a half for working Saturday and get an alternative holiday A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day. . If they worked on Monday but not Saturday: They would be paid their relevant daily pay The amount an employee would have been paid if they’d worked on a public holiday, alternative holiday, or on a day they took sick leave, family violence leave or bereavement leave. or average daily pay The daily average of the employee’s total gross earnings over the past 52 weeks. for a day off on Saturday. They would be paid their normal rate for working Monday. If they worked both days: They would be paid time and a half for working Saturday and get an alternative holiday. They would be paid their normal rate for working Monday. If they worked neither day: They would be paid their relevant daily pay or average daily pay for a day off on Saturday. This table shows minimum entitlements when Waitangi Day or ANZAC Day falls on a Sunday. Does the employee normally work Sunday? Does the employee normally work Monday? Minimum entitlement No Yes Holiday is Mondayised. If they worked on Sunday but not Monday: They would be paid their normal rate for working Sunday. They would have the day off on Monday and be paid their relevant daily pay The amount an employee would have been paid if they’d worked on a public holiday, alternative holiday, or on a day they took sick leave, family violence leave or bereavement leave. or average daily pay The daily average of the employee’s total gross earnings over the past 52 weeks. . If they worked on Monday but not Sunday: They would be paid time and a half for working on Monday and get an alternative holiday A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day. . If they worked both days: They would be paid their normal rate for working Sunday and time and a half for working Monday. They would also get an alternative holiday for working Monday. If they worked neither day: They would be provided a paid day off on Monday and be paid their relevant daily pay or average daily pay. No No Holiday is Mondayised. If they worked on Sunday but not Monday: They would be paid their normal rate for working Sunday. They would not get an alternative holiday. A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day. If they worked on Monday but not Sunday: They would be paid time and a half for working Monday. They would not get an alternative holiday. If they worked both days: They would be paid their normal rate for working Sunday and be paid time and a half for working Monday. They would not get an alternative holiday. If they worked neither day: They would not get any payment for Sunday or Monday. They would not get an alternative holiday. Yes Yes Holiday is not Mondayised. If they worked on Sunday but not Monday: They would be paid time and a half for working Sunday and get an alternative holiday A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day. for working Sunday. They would not get any public holiday-related payment and would be paid at their normal rate for working Monday. If they worked on Monday but not Sunday: They would be paid their relevant daily pay The amount an employee would have been paid if they’d worked on a public holiday, alternative holiday, or on a day they took sick leave, family violence leave or bereavement leave. or average daily pay The daily average of the employee’s total gross earnings over the past 52 weeks. for a day off on Sunday and be paid their normal rate for working Monday. If they worked both days: They would be paid time and a half for working Sunday and get an alternative holiday. They would be paid their normal rate for working Monday. If they worked neither day: They would be paid their relevant daily pay or average daily pay and have a day off work on Sunday. Their entitlement to any pay for having Monday off would depend on the reason for having that day off. Yes No Holiday is not Mondayised. If they worked on Sunday but not Monday: They would be paid time and a half for working Sunday and get an alternative holiday A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day. . If they worked on Monday but not Sunday: They would be paid their relevant daily pay The amount an employee would have been paid if they’d worked on a public holiday, alternative holiday, or on a day they took sick leave, family violence leave or bereavement leave. or average daily pay The daily average of the employee’s total gross earnings over the past 52 weeks. , for a day off on Sunday. They would be paid their normal rate for working Monday. They would not get an alternative holiday. If they worked both days: They would be paid time and a half for working Sunday and get an alternative holiday. They would be paid their normal rate for working Monday. If they worked neither day: They would be paid their relevant daily pay or average daily pay, for a day off on Sunday. This table shows minimum entitlements when Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day or January 2nd falls on a Sunday. Does the employee normally work Sunday? Does the employee normally work Tuesday? Minimum entitlement No Yes Holiday is 'Tuesdayised' because there are 2 public holidays in a row. If they worked on Sunday but not Tuesday: They would be paid their normal rate for working Sunday. They would have the day off on Tuesday and would be paid their relevant daily pay The amount an employee would have been paid if they’d worked on a public holiday, alternative holiday, or on a day they took sick leave, family violence leave or bereavement leave. or average daily pay. The daily average of the employee’s total gross earnings over the past 52 weeks. If they worked on Tuesday but not Sunday: They would be paid time and half for working on Tuesday and get an alternative holiday A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that is an otherwise working day. . If they worked both days: They would be paid their normal rate for working Sunday and time and a half for working Tuesday. They would also get an alternative holiday for working Tuesday. If they do not work on either day: They would get a paid day off on Tuesday. They would be paid their relevant daily pay or average daily pay. No No Holiday is Tuesdayised because there are 2 public holidays in a row. If they worked on Sunday but not Tuesday: They would be paid their normal rate for working Sunday. They would not get an alternative holiday. If they worked on Tuesday and not Sunday: They would be paid time and a half for working Tuesday. They would not get an alternative holiday. A paid day off to take at another time. Employees get an alternative holiday when they work on a public holiday that i