Remember that this year Boxing Day, 26 December 2020 and 2 January 2021 are public holidays that fall on a Saturday.
These public holidays are Mondayised, which means they are moved to the following Monday.
What does this mean for you?
- If an employee normally works Saturday 26 December 2020 or 2 January 2021 there is no Mondayisation for them and their public holiday benefits apply to the calendar date.
- If an employee normally works on both the calendar date of the public holiday and the possible Mondayisation date, their public holiday is on the calendar date. They can’t double dip and receive two public holidays.
If an employee does not work on a Saturday then their public holiday is transferred to:
- Monday 28 December 2020 [for Boxing Day, 26 December 2020]
- Monday 4 January 2021 [for 2 January 2021]
For those employees who do not have a clear pattern of work, work on varied or rotating rosters and have varied work times, it may be difficult to decide if Saturday would be a day they would have normally worked. The easiest test is to ask yourself; “BUT FOR the day being a public holiday would this employee have worked?”.
The employer and employee must take into account:
- The employee’s employment agreement
- The employee’s work patterns
- Any other relevant factors, including:
- whether the employee works for the employer only when work is available
- the employer’s rosters or other similar systems
- the reasonable expectation of the employer and the employee that the employee would work on the day concerned
If you are finding the Holiday season and public holidays difficult to navigate or need any HR / ER assistance, get in touch! Email us at [email protected] or call 09 273 8590 to talk to a member of our team.
