Public holidays

Rules

Your entitlement to public holidays is set out in the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Most employees are entitled to paid leave on public holidays. One exception is part-time employees who have not worked for their employer at least 40 hours in total in the 5 weeks before the public holiday.

Employees who qualify will be entitled to one of the following:

• A paid day off on the public holiday
• An additional day of annual leave
• An additional day's pay
• A paid day off within a month of the public holiday

The Organisation of Working Time Act provides that you may ask your employer at least 21 days before a public holiday, which of the alternatives will apply. If your employer fails to respond at least 14 days before the public holiday, you are entitled to take the actual public holiday as a paid day off.

Part-time employees

If you have worked for your employer at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks before the public holiday and the public holiday falls on a day you normally work you are entitled to a day's pay for the public holiday. If you are required to work that day you are entitled to an additional day's pay.

If you do not normally work on that particular day you should receive one-fifth of your weekly pay. Even if you may never be rostered to work on a public holiday you are entitled to one-fifth of your weekly pay as compensation for the public holiday.

In all of the above situations your employer may choose to give you paid time off instead of pay for the public holiday.

Sick leave on a public holiday

If you are a full time worker on sick leave during a public holiday, you have an entitlement to time off work for the public holiday you missed. If you are a part-time worker on sick leave during a public holiday, you would be entitled to time off work for the public holiday, provided you had worked for your employer for at least 40 hours in the previous five-week period.

You are not entitled to public holiday benefits if you have been off work for more than 26 weeks due to an ordinary illness or accident, or for more than 52 weeks due to an occupational accident.

Absence from work and public holiday entitlement

You are entitled to leave for any public holidays that occur while you are on maternity leave, parental leave or adoptive leave. These rights are set down in law in the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004, the Parental Leave Act 1998, and the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 respectively.

You are not entitled to public holiday benefits if you have been absent from work immediately before the public holiday and your absence is:

• Over 13 weeks, due to lay off or some other reason and authorised by your employer.
• Due to a strike
• After the first 13 weeks of carer's leave

Losing your job

If your employment finishes during the week ending on the day before a public holiday and you have worked for your employer for the previous 4 weeks, you should receive an additional day's pay for the public holiday. This also applies to part-time employees who have established a right to the public holiday by working at least 40 hours in the previous 5 weeks.

Public holidays falling on a weekend

Where a public holiday falls on a weekend, you do not have any automatic legal entitlement to have the next working day off work. This occurs in 2011 when Christmas Day (25 December) falls on a Sunday. It also occurs in 2012 when New Year's Day (1 January) falls on a Sunday. This means that Tuesday 27 December 2011, and Monday 2 January 2012 are not public holidays. When this happens you are entitled to the normal alternative arrangements concerning employment and public holidays that is:

• A paid day off within a month of the public holiday
• An additional day of annual leave
• An additional day's pay

Your employer can require you to attend work on those days.