Businesses urged to sort holiday entitlements

As businesses prepare for the Christmas period, the Department of Labour is urging employers to ensure they are on top of staff holiday entitlements.

Under the Holidays Act, employees are entitled to up to four public holidays during the festive season, which would normally be December 25 and 26 and January 1 and 2.

But business process and innovation manager Tracy Mellor says because Christmas and New Year days fall on Sundays, the Christmas statutory holidays will be Monday, December 26, and Tuesday, December 27, for employees who usually work Monday to Friday, and New Year holidays are on Monday, January 2, and Tuesday, January 3.

However, bosses need to apply the stats differently for staff who normally work on Sundays or who work shifts.

"We have updated our advice online for employers and employees so they can check their entitlements and clarify when the public holidays are observed. There will also be differences for casual and on-call workers and so a holidays and leave tool has been developed to work out employee entitlements."

Generally, the public holiday is observed on the Sunday if the staff member would normally work that day so should be given a day off on pay for December 25 and 26 and for January 1 and 2.

Mellor recommends going to the online holidays calculator at www.dol.govt.nz to clarify rules for casual and on-call workers.

If your business shuts down during this time, employees are entitled to be paid for any public holidays they would have worked if the firm was operating - even if they are taking annual leave.

Paid public holidays are an entitlement for all staff, regardless of how long they have been employed or whether they are classed as casual, part-time or full-time, if they would normally be working on that day.

When deciding what the employee's "normal" hours are, the department recommends looking at the staff roster and their employment agreement.

Payment will be calculated at the employee's "relevant daily pay" as defined under Section 9 of the Holidays Act. If this calculation is not possible or practical, the employee's average daily pay may be used.

Employees can only be required to work on a public holiday if this is included in their employment contract. Otherwise it must be with their agreement. If they do work, they are entitled to at least time and a half. If it is a day they would normally have worked, regardless of the holiday, they should also receive a day off on pay at another time.

Under the 2010 amendment to the Holidays Act, statutory holidays can now be transferred to another day, if agreed by both employer and employee - in writing. This can be initiated by either party, in good faith, and must be transferred to an identified date.