Sick leave, annual leave and public holiday pay in New Zealand

Last updated 23 June 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Leave is one of the most misunderstood parts of working life in New Zealand, and getting it wrong is costing workers real money. Your entitlements to annual leave, sick leave and public holiday pay are set by law as a minimum, and your employer cannot pay you less, no matter what your contract says. This guide explains what you are entitled to, in plain English, and what to do if your pay does not add up. Everything here ties back to the Holidays Act 2003 and guidance from Employment New Zealand.

Four weeks of annual leave

Every employee is entitled to a minimum of four weeks of paid annual holidays a year. This entitlement arrives after 12 months of continuous employment. Before that first anniversary you are still building it up, and your employer can let you take leave in advance by agreement.

How much you are paid for a week of annual leave is the part employers most often get wrong. Annual leave is paid at the greater of two figures, your ordinary weekly pay at the time you take the leave, or your average weekly earnings over the past 12 months. If your income varies because of overtime, commission or allowances, the average can be higher, and you are entitled to the higher figure.

Four weeks is a floor, not a ceiling. Many employment agreements offer more, but they cannot offer less. Genuinely casual employees and some fixed-term workers can instead be paid 8 per cent of their gross earnings on top of each pay, known as pay as you go, but only where they meet the strict criteria for it.

Sick leave, 10 days a year

You are entitled to 10 days of paid sick leave a year. This was lifted from 5 days to 10 in 2021. You become entitled after your first 6 months of continuous employment, and then you get another 10 days on each 12-month anniversary.

Unused sick leave carries over from year to year, up to a maximum balance of 20 days. Sick leave can be used when you are sick or injured, and also when your spouse or partner, or a dependant such as a child, is sick or injured and needs you to care for them.

Your employer can ask for proof of sickness, such as a medical certificate, but if they ask for it within the first three consecutive days off, they generally have to meet the cost of getting it. Sick leave is not paid out when you leave a job.

Bereavement and family violence leave

Two other paid leave types apply once you have completed 6 months of continuous employment.

Bereavement leave gives you up to 3 days off on the death of a close family member, such as a partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent or in-law, and 1 day on the death of someone else if your employer accepts you have suffered a bereavement. There is also a specific 3-day entitlement following a miscarriage or stillbirth, which can apply to the person, their partner, or a person who would have been a parent.

Family violence leave gives a worker affected by family violence up to 10 days of paid leave a year to deal with its effects, such as attending court or moving house. It is separate from sick leave and annual leave, and your employer cannot require it to be supported by an evidence threshold that defeats the purpose.

Public holidays and the day in lieu

New Zealand has 11 national public holidays, New Year’s Day and the day after, Waitangi Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, King’s Birthday, Matariki, Labour Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, plus your regional anniversary day.

The key concept is the otherwise working day. If a public holiday falls on a day you would normally have worked, you have public holiday rights for it. If it falls on a day you never work, generally you do not.

An example helps. Say Sam works Monday to Wednesday. Waitangi Day falls on a Thursday, a day Sam never works, so it is not an otherwise working day, and Sam gets no extra pay or day off. If Waitangi Day fell on a Tuesday, a day Sam normally works, Sam would be entitled to the public holiday, paid for the day off if not working, or time and a half plus a day in lieu if working.

Some public holidays are Mondayised. If Waitangi Day, Anzac Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day or the day after fall on a weekend, and you do not normally work that weekend, the public holiday moves to the following Monday or Tuesday so you do not miss out.

Public holiday pay and time and a half

There are three situations, and they pay differently.

• You do not work, and it is an otherwise working day. You get the day off, paid at your relevant daily pay, as if it were a normal working day.
• You work, and it is an otherwise working day. You must be paid at least time and a half for the hours worked, and you also get a whole alternative day off on pay, a day in lieu, to take later.
• You work, but it is not an otherwise working day. You must be paid at least time and a half for the hours worked, but you do not get an alternative day off.

The alternative day, the day in lieu, is a full day off regardless of how many hours you worked on the public holiday. It does not shrink to match a short shift. If you never take it, it is paid out when you leave, calculated on your daily pay at that point.

Common leave situations

A few everyday situations cause most of the confusion.

• Can your employer say no to annual leave. They can decline or defer a particular request, but they must be reasonable and cannot unreasonably stop you taking leave you are entitled to. Timing is often agreed together.
• Closedown periods. If your workplace closes once a year, for example over Christmas, your employer can require you to take annual leave then, with at least 14 days notice.
• Cashing up leave. You can ask to cash up to one week of your four weeks annual leave each year for a payment instead of time off. It has to be your request, in writing, and the employer can decline.
• A public holiday during your annual leave. If a public holiday falls while you are on annual leave, it is paid as a public holiday and is not deducted from your annual leave balance.
• Variable or part-time hours. The same rights apply, but working out your pay and your otherwise working days is harder when hours change. This is exactly the problem the coming law is meant to fix.

Parental leave and the 90-day trial period sit under their own separate rules, not the Holidays Act, so check those separately if they apply to you.

Final pay when you leave

When your job ends, for any reason, your final pay must include any wages owed up to your last day, plus payment for annual leave you have not taken. That covers both leave you were already entitled to and a proportion, calculated as 8 per cent of your gross earnings, for the part-year worked since your last anniversary.

Unused alternative days, the days in lieu, are also paid out. Sick leave and bereavement leave are not. If you are owed anything, it should be in your final pay, and if it is not, that is something you can pursue.

A new leave law is coming

The Holidays Act 2003 has long been criticised as complicated and easy to get wrong, and it is being replaced. The Employment Leave Bill, introduced on 9 March 2026, would bring in a new system where annual leave and sick leave accrue gradually in hours from your first day, rather than arriving in a lump on your anniversary.

This is not the law yet. The Bill still has to pass, and there is a long implementation period of around two years before it takes effect, so the entitlements set out above are the ones that apply now. We will update this guide as the new law moves through Parliament.

If your pay or leave is wrong

Holidays Act mistakes are extremely common, and many large employers have had to repay staff millions of dollars in underpaid holiday pay. If your leave does not look right, here is the order to work through.

Start by asking your employer or payroll for a clear breakdown of how your leave and holiday pay were calculated. Many errors are genuine payroll mistakes that are fixed once raised. If that does not resolve it, you can raise it formally, and you can ask the Labour Inspectorate, which enforces the Holidays Act, to look into it. Free early resolution and mediation services are available to sort out disputes without going to the Employment Relations Authority.

The practical playbook

One. Know your minimums. Four weeks annual leave, 10 days sick leave, 11 public holidays plus your anniversary. Your contract can add to these but not cut them.

Two. Check how your holiday pay is worked out. Annual leave is the greater of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings. If your pay varies, do the comparison.

Three. Track your public holidays. If you work one that is an otherwise working day, you should get time and a half and a day in lieu.

Four. Keep your payslips. They are the evidence if you need to question a calculation later.

Five. Raise errors early and in writing. Most are fixed quickly. Ask payroll for the breakdown first.

Six. Escalate if needed. Use Employment New Zealand, the Labour Inspectorate and free mediation if your employer will not put it right.

Free help when you need it

• Employment New Zealand on 0800 20 90 20 for free information on your leave and pay rights.
• Community Law Centres for free legal advice and an employment law manual.
• Citizens Advice Bureau on 0800 367 222 for free, confidential guidance.
• Your union, if you belong to one, which can advise and act on leave and pay disputes.

Frequently asked questions

How much annual leave do you get in New Zealand

A minimum of four weeks of paid annual holidays a year, which you become entitled to after 12 months of continuous employment. It is paid at the greater of your ordinary weekly pay or your average weekly earnings over the past year. Your contract can give you more than four weeks, but never less.

How many sick days do you get in New Zealand

You get 10 days of paid sick leave a year, available after your first 6 months of continuous employment and then on each anniversary. Unused sick leave carries over up to a maximum of 20 days. You can use it for your own illness or to care for a sick partner or dependant.

Do you get paid time and a half on public holidays in New Zealand

If you work on a public holiday you must be paid at least time and a half for the hours worked. If the public holiday is also a day you would normally work, you also get a whole alternative day off on pay, a day in lieu, to take later. If you do not work and it is a normal working day for you, you are paid for the day off at your relevant daily pay.

What is an otherwise working day

An otherwise working day is a day you would have worked if it had not been a public holiday. It is the test that decides your public holiday rights. If a public holiday falls on a day you normally work, you are entitled to the public holiday benefits. If it falls on a day you never work, generally you are not.

Is holiday pay paid out when you leave a job

Yes. Your final pay must include any unused annual leave, both leave you were already entitled to and a proportion for the part-year since your last anniversary, calculated as 8 per cent of your gross earnings. Unused alternative days are paid out too. Sick leave and bereavement leave are not paid out.

How is holiday pay calculated in New Zealand

Annual leave is paid at the greater of your ordinary weekly pay at the time you take it, or your average weekly earnings over the previous 12 months. The average matters when your income varies because of overtime, commission or allowances, because it can be the higher figure, and you are entitled to the higher of the two.

Can my employer refuse annual leave in New Zealand

Your employer can decline or defer a particular request for annual leave, but they have to be reasonable and cannot unreasonably stop you taking leave you are entitled to. They can also require you to take annual leave during an annual closedown, with at least 14 days notice, and you can ask to cash up to one week of leave a year.

Has an employer got your leave or holiday pay wrong? Tell us what happened in the comments below.