The festive season can be a challenging time of year for employers as you try to grapple with the complexities of the Holidays Act and understand employee entitlements.  We set out here the requirements specific to the 2024/2025 festive holidays.

Public Holidays during a Close Down Period

If a business has a close down period that includes public holidays (as can happen over the Christmas and New Year period where proper notice is provided to the employee) then the employee is entitled to be paid public holidays if those public holidays fall on days which would otherwise be working days for them.

Monday to Friday Workers

Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day and the day after New Years Day all fall on a weekday this year. Therefore, they will be observed on the day they fall. Monday to Friday employees will have those four days off and should receive full pay. Again, employees are entitled to be paid these public holidays even if the business is closed down over the period.
Your employee must be paid either their:

1. Relevant daily pay: the amounting they would have earned had they worked that day (including productivity/incentivising payments, overtime or cash value of their board/lodgings); or
2. Average daily pay (if the above does not apply): their gross earnings over the last 52 weeks divided by the number of whole/part days they would have worked on that public holiday.

It is preferable to pay employees their relevant daily pay.

Weekend Workers

As all of the public holidays fall on weekdays this holiday season, weekend workers will not be affected.

Working on a Public Holiday

If a worker works on a public holiday they should be paid time and a half and a day off in lieu.

Casual/On Call Workers

Casual/On Call Workers are entitled to receive payment for a public holiday if it would otherwise have been a working day. For example if an employee can show a pattern of working on Wednesdays, they would more than likely be entitled to be paid for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. If they can show a pattern of working on Thursdays, the same goes for Boxing Day and the day after New Years Day.

Transferring the Observance of Public Holidays

Employers and employees can agree to transfer the observance of public holidays to another working day. Any request must be considered in good faith and any agreement must meet minimum statutory requirements.

If you would like to discuss any matters relating to holiday leave entitlements or any other employment related matter, please contact our highly experienced employment specialists to set up an appointment today.