Sick leave in New Zealand: an employer’s guide
Ten days, after six months, carried over to twenty. The headline is simple; the questions that land on a manager’s desk — part-days, certificates, staff on irregular rosters — are where the Holidays Act gets specific.
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Key takeaways
- Eligible employees get 10 days’ paid sick leave a year after 6 months’ current continuous employment (or 6 months of regular hours)
- Unused sick leave carries over up to 20 days; it is never cashed up or paid out on leaving
- It is not pro-rated: a 3-day-a-week employee gets the same 10 days
- You can ask for proof on or after the third consecutive calendar day at the employee’s cost; earlier, you pay
- Sick leave is paid at relevant daily pay, and only for an otherwise working day
Who qualifies for sick leave
Under the Holidays Act 2003, an employee — full-time, part-time or casual — becomes entitled to 10 days’ paid sick leave a year once they have:
- worked for you continuously for 6 months, or
- worked for you over a 6-month period for an average of 10 hours a week, including at least 1 hour in every week or 40 hours in every month.
The second test is the one that matters for casual and variable-hours staff: an employee with no guaranteed hours can still qualify on their actual pattern. A fresh 10 days becomes available each year after that, as long as the criteria are still met in that year. If they are not, no new days are added, but any balance already carried over can still be used.
Sick leave is not pro-rated. Someone who works three days a week gets 10 days, the same as a full-timer. It covers the employee’s own illness or injury and caring for a sick partner, child or other dependant.
Carry-over to 20 days
Unused sick leave rolls into the next year up to a maximum balance of 20 days. You can agree to let it accumulate beyond 20 in the employment agreement or a workplace policy. It cannot be cashed up, and it is not paid out when the employee leaves.
Asking for proof of sickness
You can ask for proof — usually a medical certificate — but who pays depends on timing:
- 3 or more consecutive days. You can ask on or after the third day, and the employee pays. The days are calendar days, so a weekend or a rostered day off counts.
- Under 3 days. You can still ask, but you must ask as soon as possible and reimburse the cost of getting it.
You cannot tell the employee which doctor to see. If you ask for proof and it is not provided without a reasonable excuse, you do not have to pay the sick leave until it is.
The rostered-day-off case
An employee is sick on Tuesday, has Wednesday and Thursday off on the roster while still unwell, and calls in sick again on Friday. That is four consecutive calendar days, so you can ask for a certificate on Friday at their cost. Had you asked on Tuesday, you would have paid for it.
Paying sick leave
Sick leave is paid at the employee’s relevant daily pay — what they would have earned that day, including regular overtime, allowances and incentive payments — or average daily pay where relevant daily pay cannot practicably be worked out or daily pay varies. It is paid in the normal pay cycle.
It is only paid for an otherwise working day: a day the employee would have worked if they had not been sick. Someone who falls ill on a day they were not rostered is not entitled to sick pay for it. For irregular rosters, ask whether they were rostered or agreed to work, or could have expected to be.
Part-days count as whole days under the Act unless you agree otherwise. If you deduct a full day from the balance, you must pay a full day. And when an employee is receiving weekly compensation from ACC, you do not have to pay sick leave for the same period, though it can be used to top up the ACC payment.
Family violence leave
Separately from sick leave, an employee affected by family violence — or with a child living with them who is — can take up to 10 days’ paid family violence leave a year, on the same 6-month eligibility test. It does not matter when the violence happened. Unlike sick leave, unused family violence leave does not carry over, and it is not paid out on leaving.
It is paid at relevant daily pay for an otherwise working day. You can ask for proof — a letter from a support organisation, doctor or school, a declaration witnessed by an authorised person such as a justice of the peace, or court or police documents — and the employee’s personal information must be protected.
Sick leave and annual holidays
If an employee falls sick before a booked annual holiday starts, you must let them take sick leave for that period instead. If they fall sick during the holiday, they can take sick leave instead of annual holidays if you agree. The interaction with annual holiday pay is covered in our Holidays Act guide, and the Holidays Act leave calculator works out relevant and average daily pay.
The 2028 change: the Employment Leave Act 2026
The Employment Leave Act 2026 passed into law in August 2026 and will replace the Holidays Act on 6 August 2028. It changes how sick leave, family violence leave, bereavement leave, annual leave and public holidays are earned, taken and paid. Employment New Zealand is clear that the current rules apply until that date and cannot be swapped for the new ones early. The rules on this page are the ones in force now.
Whatever the law, sick leave runs on records: who was rostered, who called in, for which days. RosterElf’s leave management keeps the request against the shift it affected and the balance against the employee.
Related guides
- The Holidays Act 2003 for employers — annual holidays, relevant daily pay and the 2028 change
- Public holidays 2026 — the same otherwise-working-day test in action
- Payday filing — sick pay is reported in the pay it relates to
Sources
Checked on 15 October 2026.
Know who is off, and why
Sick leave requests recorded against the rostered shift, balances kept per employee, and clean leave data sent to payroll.
This guide summarises sick leave and family violence leave under the Holidays Act 2003 as it applies until 6 August 2028, and is not legal or payroll advice. Entitlement depends on each employee's service and 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.
Sick leave questions
- Ten days of paid sick leave a year once the employee has worked for you for 6 months continuously, or for 6 months for an average of 10 hours a week including at least 1 hour every week or 40 hours every month. Full-time, part-time and casual staff all qualify on the same terms.
- Yes. Sick leave covers the employee’s own sickness or injury and caring for their spouse or partner, child or other dependant.
- No. Unused sick leave cannot be cashed up and is not part of final pay. Only annual holidays are paid out on leaving — see our Holidays Act guide.