Mondayisation Mayhem

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:

1. Your employee takes the Public Holiday on Saturday – if the employee normally works on Saturday (meaning it is otherwise a working day), they get the day off as a paid Public Holiday.
2. Your employee works the Public Holiday on Saturday – if the employee normally works Saturdays and works some or all of that day they will be entitled to receive payment of at least time and one half for the actual hours they work.  They will also get an alternative day off the date of which will need to be agreed.  However, if the employee only works on Public Holidays, they will not get an alternative day.
3. Your employee takes the Public Holiday on Monday – if the employee does not normally work on Saturday, they will be able to take Monday off on pay if they normally work that day.  If they work on Monday, they will be paid at least time and one half of the actual hours they work and they will get an alternative day off the date of which will need to be agreed.
4. Your employee is not entitled to the Public Holiday – if the employee does not normally work on Saturday or on Monday, they do not get a holiday and they do not receive any payment.  However, if the employee is asked to work on that Saturday and does work, they will be paid at least time and one half but will not receive an alternative day.  If the employee is then asked to work Monday and they do they will be paid their normal rate of pay.
5. Boxing Day 2021 will be Tuesdayised as the result of Christmas next year being Mondayised.

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.

Transferring public holidays

You and your employee can agree to transfer the observance of Boxing Day (which has been ‘Mondayised’) to another day, and if the employee:

• works on the day the public holiday is transferred to (the employer and employee must both agree that the employee will work on that day), they get paid time and a half for the hours worked and get an alternative holiday just as they would have if they had worked the original public holiday.
• doesn’t work on the day the public holiday is transferred to, they get relevant daily pay or average daily pay for the day that the public holiday is transferred to.
• would have worked on a day that a public holiday is transferred to but can’t because they are unwell, they get paid their relevant daily pay or average daily pay as if they had a paid, unworked public holiday and they won’t have sick leave deducted.

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