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Employment Relations: Employment agreement builder

Section 8: Holidays and Leave – Public Holidays and On-Call

Your agreement must contain a clause pertaining to payment on public holidays. It can be as simple as stating the pay rate on public holidays (which section 50 of the Holidays Act requires to be at least time-and-a-half), or go so far as to define which particular holidays the employee is entitled to take time off (i.e. Rosh Hashannah, rather than New Year’s Day).

The Holidays Act entitles employees to 11 public holidays per year.

In the event of the Public Holidays other than the days set out in the Holidays Act clauses: These provisions can be used where the employer and employee agree to different dates on which to celebrate public holidays. It cannot be used in a way that would reduce the leave that the employee would have received had the traditional holidays been celebrated.

Payment for work on a Public Holiday
 
The employee shall be entitled to be paid for the time actually worked on a Public Holiday at the rate of time and a half of their relevant daily pay.
Public Holidays as set out in the Holidays Act, with the ability to require the Employee to work on a public holiday
 
The employee shall be entitled to 11 public holidays per year, in addition to annual leave.
Public Holidays as set out in the Holidays Act, and where the Employer does not have the ability to require the employee to work on a public holiday
 
...The Employer may ask the Employee to work on a public holiday, but the Employee may at their discretion decline to work on that day...
Public Holidays other than the days set out in the Holidays Act with the ability to require the employee to work on the holiday
 
The Employee and Employer agree that instead of the Employee being entitled to the 11 public holidays per year set out in the Holidays Act, the Employee shall be entitled to 11 days holidays on the following days: ...
...The Employer shall be entitled to require the Employee to work on one or more of the days identified as a holiday...
Public Holidays other than those set out in the Holidays Act, and where the Employer does not have the ability to require the Employee to work on a public holiday
 
The Employee and Employer agree that instead of the Employee being entitled to the 11 public holidays per year set out in the Holidays Act, the Employee shall be entitled to 11 days holidays on the following days: ...
...the Employee may at their discretion decline to work on that day...


The following two clauses pertain to holiday pay in specific reference to on call employees.

On Call on Public Holiday that would otherwise have been a working day for the Employee
 
The Employer may require that the Employee be on call on a public holiday that would otherwise have been a working day for the Employee. Where this occurs, the entitlement to payment is as follows:

(i)    If the employee is called out, the employee is entitled to payment (as detailed in the 'Payment for work on a public holiday' clause of this agreement) plus a full day’s paid alternative holiday
(ii)    If the Employee is required to restrict activities on the day to the extent that they have not enjoyed a full holiday, but is not called out, then the Employee is entitled to a full day’s paid alternative holiday. Payment for the time on call is at .
(iii)   If the Employee is on call, but is not required to restrict activities, for example if the employee can choose not to accept the call out, then the entitlement to payment and an alternative paid holiday only arises if the Employee accepts the callout and the day would otherwise have been a working day for the employee. If this occurs, then the employee is entitled to payment (as detailed in the 'Payment for work on a public holiday' clause of this agreement) plus a full day’s paid alternative holiday. Payment to recognize the time on call regardless of a call out is at .


On-call on Public Holiday not on a normal working day
 
The Employer may request that the Employee is on call on a public holiday that would not otherwise have been a working day for the Employee. Where this occurs, the entitlement to payment is as follows:

(i)     If the employee is called out, the employee is entitled to payment (as detailed in the 'Payment for work on a public holiday' clause of this agreement) but not a day’s paid alternative holiday.
(ii)    If the Employee is required to restrict activities on the day to the extent that they have not enjoyed a full holiday, but is not called out, then the Employee is entitled to a full day’s paid alternative holiday. Payment for the time on call is at .
(iii)    If the Employee is on call, but is not required to restrict activities, for example if the employee can choose not to accept the call out, then entitlement to payment only arises if the Employee accepts the callout. Payment for the time on call regardless of a call out is at .
About OER | Department of Labour, May 2006. © The Crown