How to Manage Public Holidays

Managing Public Holidays

This guide explains how to manage public holidays. Our statutory pay calculator ensures compliance with public holiday rules, including cases where holidays fall on weekends and whether employees qualify for an Alternative Holiday.

Table of Contents

1. Video Instructions on the Statutory Calculator
2. Written Instructions on the Statutory Calculator
3. Adding Worked Hours and Alternative Holidays

Note: Follow the guide below carefully to stay compliant with the Holidays Act 2003.

Video Instructions on the Statutory Calculator

This video demonstrates how to use our calculator tool to determine if an employee is eligible for a paid day off. This should be the first step when processing a public holiday.

Note: After running the statutory pay calculator, you must manually add worked hours to the public holiday entry if applicable. Click here.

Written Instructions on the Statutory Calculator

1. Navigate to "Process a Pay" and select "Time & Income".

2. If a public holiday falls within the current period, a "P.H." button will appear (this will not be displayed if there are no public holidays in the period).

3. Click the "P.H." button to open the menu.

4. Select the relevant public holiday.

Regular Employees

Employees who have default hours on the public holiday should be paid their Relevant Daily Pay.

If the employee also receives additional income such as call-outs, commissions, or other gross earnings, they should instead be paid using Average Daily Pay.

Irregular Employees

Employees who do not have default hours on the public holiday should be paid their Average Daily Pay.

After selecting the appropriate pay rate, tick the "Accept" checkbox at the top. The statutory pay will be loaded into the "Time & Income" screen.

Note: If employees worked on the public holiday, you must manually enter their worked hours in the public holiday entry.

Adding Worked Hours and Alternative Holidays

After accepting the statutory pay, public holiday entries will be generated automatically for all applicable employees.

Adding Worked Hours for Employees with a Public Holiday Entry

1. Click on the date in the employee's timesheet to edit the entry.

2. Enter the worked hours under "Worked Hours".

If the employee worked on a public holiday and it is an "Otherwise Working Day", they are entitled to an Alternative Holiday (Day in Lieu). The system will automatically add this when both "Worked Hours" and "Default Hours" are filled.

Adding Worked Hours for Employees Without a Public Holiday Entry

If an employee was not automatically given a public holiday entry but should have one, you must add it manually.

1. Click the blank white box in the timesheet and enter the public holiday date.

2. Enter the "Worked Hours" as the hours worked. Leave the "Default Hours" field blank.