Public holidays in New Zealand for 2026, and how to pay them
The dates are the easy part. What catches rostered businesses out is working out, for each person, whether the holiday was a day they would otherwise have worked — because that decides whether they get a paid day off, an alternative holiday, both or neither.
Summarise with AI
Key takeaways
- Employees are entitled to up to 12 public holidays a year: 11 national holidays plus one regional anniversary day
- Matariki fell on Friday 10 July in 2026; Anzac Day and Boxing Day fell on a Saturday and are Mondayised for staff who do not normally work Saturdays
- Work on a public holiday is paid at at least time and a half
- If the holiday is an otherwise working day for the employee, working it also earns a paid alternative holiday
- Not working an otherwise working day still means a paid day off at relevant daily pay
New Zealand public holidays 2026
The 11 national public holidays under the Holidays Act 2003, with the dates they are observed in 2026:
| Holiday | Observed in 2026 | Note |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thursday 1 January | |
| Day after New Year’s Day | Friday 2 January | |
| Waitangi Day | Friday 6 February | |
| Good Friday | Friday 3 April | |
| Easter Monday | Monday 6 April | |
| Anzac Day | Saturday 25 April, or Monday 27 April | Mondayised for staff who do not normally work Saturday |
| King’s Birthday | Monday 1 June | |
| Matariki | Friday 10 July | |
| Labour Day | Monday 26 October | |
| Christmas Day | Friday 25 December | |
| Boxing Day | Saturday 26 December, or Monday 28 December | Mondayised for staff who do not normally work Saturday |
Regional anniversary days 2026
Each employee also gets one anniversary day — normally the one for the province where they usually work. Where someone is temporarily based elsewhere, agree which applies; if you cannot agree, it is the province where they usually work. The observed 2026 dates published by Employment New Zealand:
| Region | Observed in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Wellington | Monday 19 January |
| Auckland | Monday 26 January |
| Nelson | Monday 2 February |
| Taranaki | Monday 9 March |
| Otago | Monday 23 March |
| Southland | Tuesday 7 April |
| Canterbury (South) | Monday 28 September |
| Hawke’s Bay | Friday 23 October |
| Marlborough | Monday 2 November |
| Canterbury | Friday 13 November |
| Westland | Monday 30 November |
| Chatham Islands | Monday 30 November |
Employment New Zealand cautions that its regional list may contain errors and recommends confirming the date with your local council. Anniversary days are never Mondayised.
Mondayisation: when a holiday falls on a weekend
Six holidays can be Mondayised: New Year’s Day, the day after New Year’s Day, Waitangi Day, Anzac Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Good Friday, Easter Monday, King’s Birthday, Matariki and Labour Day are always on a weekday, so they never move.
- Staff who normally work the Saturday or Sunday keep the holiday on the weekend day. The following Monday is an ordinary day for them.
- Staff who do not normally work that weekend day have the holiday moved to the Monday (or the Tuesday, where Christmas and Boxing Day, or New Year and 2 January, fall across a weekend).
- Nobody gets both — an employee who works weekends and Mondays has one public holiday, not two.
In 2026 that affected Anzac Day (Saturday 25 April) and Boxing Day (Saturday 26 December). On a mixed roster, the same date is a public holiday for some of your staff and an ordinary day for others. Shop trading restrictions on Anzac Day and Christmas Day follow the calendar date and do not move.
Paying staff who work on a public holiday
For the hours worked on the day, pay at least the greater of:
- time and a half — the employee’s relevant daily pay (or average daily pay where that applies) for the time worked, not including penal rates, plus half that amount again; or
- relevant daily pay for the time worked including any penal rates in the employment agreement.
Penal rates and time and a half do not stack. Public holidays run midnight to midnight, so on a shift that crosses midnight only the hours inside the holiday attract the higher rate. Staff employed only to work public holidays still get time and a half, but no alternative holiday.
Alternative holidays (days in lieu)
If the public holiday is an otherwise working day for the employee — a day they would have worked had it not been a holiday — and they work any part of it, they also earn an alternative holiday: a full paid day off to take later. Three hours worked on Easter Monday still earns a whole day.
- It is paid at relevant daily pay (or average daily pay) for the day it is taken, not the hours worked on the holiday — an alternative holiday taken on an 8-hour Friday is 8 hours’ pay.
- It does not expire. Once 12 months have passed, employee and employer can agree to pay it out.
- An employee on call earns an alternative holiday only if the day is an otherwise working day and they are called out or required to restrict their activities.
Deciding “otherwise working day” on a variable roster
For staff without a fixed pattern, look at what the roster would have been: were they rostered or agreed to work, or could they reasonably have expected to be? Their recent pattern on that weekday is the usual evidence. This is the decision most often got wrong, and the one a clean roster history settles. Employment New Zealand publishes a factors checklist for it.
Staff who do not work the holiday
If it is an otherwise working day and they have the day off, pay relevant daily pay (or average daily pay) for the day. If it is not an otherwise working day, there is no payment — although you can choose to pay. How relevant daily pay and average daily pay are worked out is covered in our Holidays Act guide, and the Holidays Act leave calculator does the arithmetic.
Looking ahead to 2027
Roster planning for next year starts now. Employment New Zealand’s 2027 dates put Matariki on Friday 25 June, Good Friday on 26 March, Easter Monday on 29 March, King’s Birthday on 7 June and Labour Day on 25 October. Several fixed-date holidays fall on weekends in 2027, so Mondayisation applies to the day after New Year’s Day, Waitangi Day, Anzac Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day — with Boxing Day moving to Tuesday 28 December for weekday-only staff.
Public holiday pay also changes in August 2028, when the Employment Leave Act 2026 replaces the Holidays Act. Until 6 August 2028 the rules on this page continue to apply.
Related guides
- The Holidays Act 2003 for employers — annual holidays, relevant daily pay and average daily pay
- Sick leave in NZ — the same otherwise-working-day test applies
- Minimum wage — the floor time and a half is calculated from
Sources
Checked on 15 October 2026.
Roster public holidays without the guesswork
See who is rostered on each holiday, keep the pattern history that settles “otherwise working day”, and send clean hours to payroll.
This guide summarises New Zealand public holiday entitlements under the Holidays Act 2003 and the 2026 dates published by Employment New Zealand, and is not legal or payroll advice. Regional anniversary dates should be confirmed locally and entitlements depend on each employee's work pattern. Check Employment New Zealand, or take advice, before relying on it for a specific case. It does not constitute legal, HR, or professional advice and should not be relied on as a substitute for advice specific to your business, workforce, or circumstances.
Public holiday questions
- Eleven national public holidays plus one regional anniversary day, so an employee is entitled to a maximum of 12. An employee can claim only one anniversary day a year — usually that of the province where they normally work.
- Matariki was Friday 10 July 2026. In 2027 it falls on Friday 25 June. Matariki moves each year and is never Mondayised, because it is already set on a Friday.
- Labour Day (Monday 26 October), Christmas Day (Friday 25 December) and Boxing Day (Saturday 26 December, Mondayised to Monday 28 December for staff who do not normally work Saturdays), plus the late-year anniversary days for Marlborough, Canterbury, Westland and the Chatham Islands.