April 2026 packs three public holidays and a Mondayisation trigger into a single month, creating a stretch where payroll mistakes are most likely for New Zealand employers.
New Zealand small businesses are entering the toughest period on the compliance calendar, with this April representing the ultimate payroll stress test. Within a span of just 25 days, managers must navigate a gauntlet of different pay rates, restricted trading rules and the tricky “Mondayisation” of a separate weekend holiday.
Good Friday (3 April), Easter Monday (6 April) and the Mondayised ANZAC Day (27 April) all fall within four weeks, each carrying specific pay entitlements that vary depending on an employee’s normal work pattern. Easter Sunday (5 April) adds another layer of complexity as a restricted trading day for retail businesses, even though it is not itself a public holiday.
For time-poor business owners in hospitality, retail and other weekend-dependent industries, the margin for error is slim. Miscalculating a single shift could mean underpaying an employee or missing an alternative holiday entitlement altogether.
While the source of the complexity, the Holidays Act 2003, is on its way out, relief is still some way off. Its likely replacement, the government’s Employment Leave Bill, was introduced into Parliament in March 2026, and proposes a fundamental shift to hours-based accrual. However, this legislation is currently at the Select Committee stage, and until any new law takes effect, the existing Holidays Act rules remain in force.
Easter Saturday Is Not a Public Holiday
One of the most persistent misconceptions in New Zealand employment is that Easter Saturday (4 April) is a public holiday. Only Good Friday and Easter Monday carry public holiday status over the Easter period under the Holidays Act.
Employers who roster staff on Easter Saturday owe ordinary pay only, with no requirement to pay time-and-a-half or offer an alternative holiday for that day.
Easter Sunday occupies a different category. While it is not a public holiday either, it is a restricted trading day. Most retail businesses cannot open on Easter Sunday unless they fall within specific exemptions, such as dairies, service stations, restaurants, cafes, takeaway shops and some garden centres. Employers in industries outside retail, such as hospitality and accommodation, are generally unaffected by the trading restriction but should confirm their specific situation.
The practical effect is that SME owners need to treat three days differently across one long weekend: public holiday rules on Friday and Monday, restricted trading rules on Sunday and ordinary rules on Saturday.
Employees Who Work Public Holidays Must Be Rewarded
Under the Holidays Act, any employee who works on a public holiday must receive pay at time-and-a-half their relevant daily pay. On top of that, the employee is entitled to an alternative holiday (commonly called a day in lieu) if the public holiday falls on a day they would otherwise have worked.
That second requirement is where the “otherwise working day” test becomes critical. The test asks whether the employee would normally have worked on that day, taking into account their employment agreement, work patterns and any other relevant factors. For employees on fixed Monday-to-Friday rosters, the answer is usually straightforward. For casual staff, variable-hour employees and those on rotating rosters, the assessment is more nuanced.
An employee who does not work on a public holiday but would have otherwise worked that day is still entitled to a paid day off at their relevant daily pay. Generally, employers cannot require staff to work on a public holiday unless their employment agreement specifically provides for it and the request is reasonable
ANZAC Day Triggers Mondayisation
ANZAC Day 2026 lands on Saturday 25 April, which activates the Mondayisation provisions in the Holidays Act. These rules were introduced to ensure employees do not lose a public holiday entitlement simply because it falls on a day they would not normally work.
The rules work differently depending on an employee’s usual roster.
For employees who do not normally work Saturdays, the public holiday transfers to Monday 27 April. These employees are entitled to a paid day off on the Monday, or time-and-a-half plus an alternative holiday if they work that day.
For employees who normally work Saturdays, the public holiday remains on Saturday 25 April. They receive time-and-a-half for any hours worked, plus an alternative holiday.
This creates a scenario where an employer may have some staff observing the holiday on Saturday and others on Monday, depending on their individual rosters. A large cafe with a mix of weekday-only office staff and weekend rostered baristas, for instance, would need to apply different rules to different employees for the same public holiday.
Getting Holiday Pay Right Requires the Right Data
The Holidays Act prescribes two methods for calculating public holiday pay: relevant daily pay and average daily pay.
Relevant daily pay is the amount an employee would have earned had they worked on the day in question, including regular allowances and productivity payments. Average daily pay is calculated by dividing the employee’s gross earnings over the past 52 weeks by the number of days they actually worked in that period.
Employers must use relevant daily pay unless it is not reasonably determinable, in which case average daily pay applies. For employees with variable hours, irregular shifts or recent changes to their work patterns, average daily pay is often the fallback. Getting this wrong, particularly for part-time and casual employees, is one of the most common sources of Holidays Act breaches.
Other frequent mistakes include forgetting to record and provide alternative holidays, assuming Easter Saturday carries public holiday obligations, and failing to apply Mondayisation rules correctly when ANZAC Day or Waitangi Day fall on a weekend.
Employers who rely on manual spreadsheets or memory to track these entitlements face a higher risk of errors. Payroll and leave management systems that automate public holiday calculations and flag alternative holiday balances can reduce that exposure significantly and allow leaders to reduce stress at what should be a time for a break.
