Engine Room Blog

Over the Easter period there are a lot of issues for business operators to be aware of.  Which days are public holidays?  What are the employee entitlements?  What days can I open? In 2011, there is an additional issue - ANZAC Day and Easter Monday falling on the same day.  Along with establishing what payments need to be made to employees for what days, there are also Shop Trading restrictions in operation on some of those days, under the Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal Act 1990, that business operators need to comply with. 

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 Public Holidays 2010/2011

The general rule for public holidays is that they are taken on the day they fall. There are four public holidays that are treated differently.

These are Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and 2^nd of January.

When any of these four public holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday the first step is to look at your employees’ work patterns. You need to determine if the public holiday falls on an employee’s ‘Otherwise Working Day’. You can use the Department of Labour’s Holidays Online Tool to help you with that. You can then use this chart to help you determine which day the public holiday will be taken.

*If the day that the public holiday is taken on is not an otherwise working day for that employee then the employee observes that public holiday as an unpaid public holiday.

• Additional information on Public Holidays,
• Use the Holidays Online Tool
• Get information on the proposed changes to the Employment Relations Act 2000 and Holidays Act 2003