When a public holiday falls on a weekend, the Holidays Act 2003 dictates that the observance of that holiday may be moved to the following Monday (or in some cases, Tuesday). This process is referred to as Mondayisation.
Mondayisation only happens if the employee doesn't normally work on the calendar date of the holiday. If an employee does normally work on the calendar date of the public holiday, there is no Mondayisation for them, and their public holiday benefits apply directly to the actual calendar date.
Note: This article aims to explain the principles of handling mondayised public holidays in Tempus. If you have questions relating to complex public holiday handling or irregular working patterns, please raise this with your payroll contact, or if you are a payroll contact, please reach out to our support team.
In New Zealand, Mondayisation only applies to public holidays that fall on a calendar date, which means they can shift through the days of the week from year to year.
These holidays include:
New Year's Day (1 January)
Day after New Year's Day (2 January)
Waitangi Day (6 February)
ANZAC Day (25 April)
Christmas Day (25 December)
Boxing Day (26 December)
Holidays that are attached to a specific day of the week (such as King's Birthday or Labour Day, which always fall on a Monday) are not subject to mondayisation.
To determine how to pay an employee when a public holiday falls on a weekend, you must first determine if the weekend day is an "Otherwise Working Day" for that specific employee.
Scenario A: The employee normally works on the weekend (No Mondayisation)
If an employee normally works on the Saturday or Sunday that the public holiday falls on, their public holiday is observed on that exact calendar day.
If they work on that day, they are entitled to time and a half and an Alternative Holiday.
If they take the day off, they are paid their ordinary earnings for the public holiday.
Their following Monday is treated as a standard working day.
Scenario B: The employee does not normally work on the weekend (Mondayisation applies)
If an employee does not normally work on the Saturday or Sunday that the public holiday falls on, their observance of the holiday is transferred to the following Monday (or Tuesday).
If they work on the Mondayised date, they are entitled to time and a half and an Alternative Holiday (if Monday is their otherwise working day).
If they take the Mondayised date off, they are paid their ordinary earnings for the public holiday.
Note: An employee can never receive two public holidays for the same event. If an employee would normally work on both the calendar date of the public holiday and the possible mondayisation date, their public holiday is always observed on the calendar date.
In most cases, working out whether an employee would have normally worked on the weekend is straightforward because of their working pattern.
However, when an employee does not have a clear work pattern, or there is a lot of variation in work times, it may be harder to decide if they would have normally worked on the Saturday or Sunday a public holiday falls on.
Tempus will review multiple data points to help determine this, such as:
The user's configured working pattern.
Working patterns for the prior 12 weeks for that specific day of the week.
Generally speaking, if the user has worked more than 50% of the prior 12 equivalent days, this day may be considered an Otherwise Working Day.
When it comes to entering time in Tempus for a mondayised holiday, the rules outlined in our primary Public Holidays guide apply directly to the observed date for that specific employee.
If the weekend calendar date is the observed holiday: Apply the Public Holiday Worked or Public Holiday Not Worked work types to the weekend timesheet shift.
If the Monday is the observed holiday: Apply the Public Holiday Worked or Public Holiday Not Worked work types to the Monday timesheet shift.
Note: If your end users are clocking in via Tempus time clocks on their observed public holiday, ensure they are selecting the Public Holiday Worked work type for their shift.
For complex scenarios, please refer to the following official resources:
Government Flowchart: Holidays Mondayisation Flowchart (PDF)
Otherwise Working Days: Employment NZ has more information and a calculator to help you work out if a day is an Otherwise Working Day.
Public holiday falls on a Saturday: See here for more information from Employment NZ if a public holiday falls on a Saturday.
Public holiday falls on a Sunday: See here for more information from Employment NZ if a public holiday falls on a Sunday.