One-off public holiday announced for Monday 26 September

It has been announced that New Zealand will mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II with a state memorial service and a public holiday. Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day will be a one-off public holiday observed on Monday 26 September 2022 only.

What does this mean for you and your employees?

The Holidays Act's normal requirements for public holidays will apply, so Monday 26 September should be treated like any other public holiday. 

Here’s a quick reminder of how payroll works on a public holiday.

If your business will close for the public holiday

Employees who would usually have worked on Monday September 26, 2022, are entitled to be paid for the day. This is entered as Statutory Holiday Taken.

If your business will be open on the public holiday

All employees who work on the public holiday are entitled to be paid time and a half for any hours worked.

If it’s the employee’s usual working day, they are also entitled to an Alt Public Holiday.

If your employee is on leave 

If an employee is on leave when there’s a public holiday and they normally would have worked on that day, then they are entitled to be paid for the public holiday and not use their leave balance.

If Monday is your usual payday

Smartly is closed on public holidays so if you usually process your pay on Monday, you will need to change the day you process this to ensure your staff get paid. It’s good practice to process the pay before your usual payday if possible, and make sure to communicate any changes to your employees.

For employers in South Canterbury

Local councils have voted to shift the date of South Canterbury Anniversary Day to November 11 2022, after it was announced that the one-off Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day would fall on the same date. For more information on this recent announcement, click here. 

The new one-off public holiday has been added into the Smartly system, so you can run payroll as you usually do when there’s a public holiday. 

If leave for September 26th has already been approved in Smartly, you’ll need to remove or edit the leave request if this day would otherwise be considered a normal working day for the employee, as it must instead be treated as a public holiday. 

If you use our direct debit processing option, please note that Monday 26 September does not count as a working day, so make sure you process your payroll in time to allow two working days before pay day.

For more details on how to enter annual leave in Smartly, check out our public holiday payroll guide.