 Public Holidays
Are you ready for the transfer of public holidays this year?
Download our short guide on the transfer of Christmas Day, Boxing day, New Years Day and the 'day after new years' January public holiday.
Public Holiday Transfer 2010 - 2011
The Holidays Act 2003 provides for 11 public holidays:
An employee is entitled to a public holiday, and payment for the holiday, where the public holiday falls on day which, but for the public holiday, would otherwise be working day for the employee.
An employee is entitled to take the public holiday that falls on a day that would otherwise be a working day for the employee. An employer may require the employee to work on a public holiday.
Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and 2 January are transferable public holidays where these public holidays occur in the weekend. It is transferred, however, only for employees who are not required to work on weekends. On the other hand, Christmas and New year must be observed on the day they fall for employees who are required to work on weekends.
The payment for a public holiday is dependent on whether an employee works or does not work on the public holiday.
An employee, who works on a public holiday that falls on a day that would otherwise be a working day for the employee, is entitled to be paid a time and a half for the hours worked and also to an alternative holiday. The Holiday Act 2003 requires that the alternative holiday must be a whole day irrespective of the hours worked.
Employers are required to pay an employee his/her relevant daily pay if a public holiday falls on a day that is otherwise a working day for the public and the employee is not required to work that day. Relevant daily pay is defined as the amount of pay that an employee would receive had he/she worked on the day concerned. It includes productivity and incentive payments, overtime and the value of cash board and lodging if those payments would have been received for the day concerned.
Refer to the a-z guide on Public Holidays - Holidays Act 2003, for more information.
| 
