04 December 2020
If employers thought 2020 was a tough year just wait until they find out the number of public holidays that will be Mondayised with one even being Tuesdayised in 2021.
Beginning with the day after Christmas, Boxing Day 2020 there will be a further four public holidays Mondayised throughout the new year. These include the day after New Year’s, Waitangi Day, Anzac Day and Christmas 2021. Because Christmas 2021 will be Mondayised, Boxing Day 2021 will then be Tuesdayised.
While dealing with the Holidays Act is enough to make even the most stalwart member of your admin team feel like having a bit of a lie down, a few simple rules will (or should) be just the prescription to get that book keeper back on their feet sorting staff queries like a pro.
As mentioned, this year Boxing Day 2020 and the day after New Year’s 2021, just one week later falls on a Saturday and as a result, there has been interest in knowing how Mondayisation will be put into practice in the workplace before the end of 2020.
For many employees who work Monday to Friday, the Act can be applied in a straight forward manner. The situation becomes more complicated where work patterns vary.
Keeping in mind that an employee gets just one public holiday, the scenarios set out below should cover all the possibilities:
If you are feeling like you need a bit more relief, you won’t be the only one. In fact, MBIE is aware of the confusion around the Holidays Act and provides a couple of helpful online tools. One such tool is the Otherwise Working Day Calculator. Establishing whether the public holiday is otherwise a working day for your staff member is the first step.
If you are concerned with whether the day is otherwise a working day then work through the questions and see how you go. We recommend you work through both the employer and employee versions of the questions just to be sure.
The Ministry also provides a helpful flow chart to guide decision making decision.
You and your employee can agree to transfer the observance of Boxing Day (which has been ‘Mondayised’) to another day, and if the employee:
Of course, it is important to note that the transfer of public holidays cannot be used to reduce an employee’s public holiday entitlements.
We hope this overview helps our members to correctly apply the Holidays Act Mondayising or Tuesdayising public holidays. If more assistance is needed, please feel free to ring one of our team.
David Browne | Legal Team Manager
Legal Team
David Browne | Senior Solicitor/Legal Team Manager | 03 456 1812 | 021 225 6938 | david@osea.org.nz
Persia Templeton | Senior Solicitor | 0508 656 757 | persia@osea.org.nz
Adam Siwerski | Solicitor | 03 456 1809 | 021 756 809 | adam@osea.org.nz