NZ holiday pay calculator
Work out your annual holiday pay, your 8% pay-as-you-go top-up, or what you are owed when you leave a job. Quick answer first, fine print below.
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How holiday pay works in NZ, in plain English
Your employer has to pay you the greater of two numbers when you take annual leave.
Ordinary weekly pay
What you would normally get in a week, including regular overtime, allowances and regular bonuses. If your pay jumps around, the standard method is your gross pay from the 4 weeks before your leave, minus any one-off payments, divided by 4.
Average weekly earnings
Your gross earnings over the last 12 months divided by 52. If you have worked less than a year, it is your total earnings divided by the weeks you have worked.
Whichever of the two is higher is what you get for each week of leave. That is the whole trick, and the reason a lot of people are underpaid when their hours go up and down.
Leave entitlements at a glance
| Leave | What you get | When |
|---|---|---|
| Annual holidays | 4 weeks paid a year | After 12 months of continuous employment |
| Sick leave | 10 days paid a year. Unused days carry over, up to 20 days total unless your agreement says otherwise | After 6 months |
| Bereavement leave | Up to 3 days for a spouse, partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild. Up to 1 day for other relationships your employer accepts | After 6 months |
| Family violence leave | 10 days paid a year. Unused days do not carry over | After 6 months |
| Public holidays | 12 a year. Work one and you get at least time and a half. If it would normally have been a working day for you, you also get an alternative holiday | From day one |
"After 6 months" means 6 months of continuous employment, or an average of at least 10 hours a week with no gap of 40 hours or more in a month.
8% pay-as-you-go
Instead of taking paid time off, you can be paid 8% of your gross earnings on top of your wages. It is only allowed in two situations: a genuine fixed-term agreement of less than 12 months, or work so intermittent or irregular that leave cannot be worked out in advance.
Two rules to check on your payslip. The 8% must be a separate, identifiable amount, and it must be agreed in writing. If your hourly rate is "inclusive of holiday pay" and the 8% is not shown separately, ask your employer to fix it.
Leaving your job
If you have been there 12 months or more, you get your unused annual leave paid out at the higher of the two rates above, plus 8% of your gross earnings since your last anniversary date, minus any holiday pay already paid for that period. If you have been there under 12 months, you get 8% of your gross earnings, minus anything already paid.
Public holidays, 2026 and 2027
| Holiday | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Thu 1 Jan | Fri 1 Jan |
| Day after New Year's Day | Fri 2 Jan | Sat 2 Jan or Mon 4 Jan |
| Waitangi Day | Fri 6 Feb | Sat 6 Feb or Mon 8 Feb |
| Good Friday | Fri 3 Apr | Fri 26 Mar |
| Easter Monday | Mon 6 Apr | Mon 29 Mar |
| Anzac Day | Sat 25 Apr or Mon 27 Apr | Sat 25 Apr or Mon 26 Apr |
| King's Birthday | Mon 1 Jun | Mon 7 Jun |
| Matariki | Fri 10 Jul | Fri 25 Jun |
| Labour Day | Mon 26 Oct | Mon 25 Oct |
| Christmas Day | Fri 25 Dec | Sat 25 Dec or Mon 27 Dec |
| Boxing Day | Sat 26 Dec or Mon 28 Dec | Sun 26 Dec or Tue 28 Dec |
Where two dates are shown, the holiday moves to the Monday or Tuesday if the day falls on a weekend you would not normally work. Your region's anniversary day is on top of these. Dates from Employment New Zealand.
The law is changing in 2028
Parliament has passed a new Employment Leave Act to replace the Holidays Act. Employment New Zealand says it replaces the Holidays Act in August 2028, and until then the current rules apply. Reports on the new law say leave will start building from day one in hours, casual workers will get a 12.5% leave payment instead of the 8%, and all leave will be paid at a single hourly rate instead of the greater-of test. We will update this page when the details are final.
Questions people ask
How is holiday pay worked out in New Zealand?
It is the greater of your ordinary weekly pay and your average weekly earnings. Your employer must pay whichever is higher.
How much annual leave do I get?
Four weeks a year, available after 12 months of continuous employment and each year after that.
Can my employer pay me 8% instead of giving me leave?
Only if you are on a genuine fixed-term agreement of less than 12 months, or your work is so irregular that leave cannot be worked out in advance. It has to be agreed in writing and shown as its own line on your payslip.
What am I owed when I resign or get let go?
Unused annual leave you are entitled to, plus 8% of your gross earnings since your last anniversary (or since you started, if under a year), minus holiday pay you have already had. Use the "Leaving my job" option above.
What do I get for working on a public holiday?
At least time and a half for the hours worked, plus an alternative holiday if it would otherwise have been a working day for you.
What if I think I have been underpaid?
Ask your employer to show how they worked it out. If that does not fix it, Employment New Zealand runs a free information line on 0800 20 90 20.
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Sources: Employment NZ: annual holiday pay, Employment NZ: final pay, Employment NZ: leave and holidays guide, Employment NZ: public holiday dates, Newswire: Employment Leave Bill.