Christmas payroll FAQs

When annual leave overlaps a public holiday, treat each part separately. Pay the public holiday according to whether it is an otherwise working day for the employee, and keep annual leave only for the remaining days.

1. Go to Pay > Run a pay.
2. Open the employee and click Add leave item.
3. Add Annual Leave Taken with the relevant dates and hours.
4. If a public holiday falls in the period, do one of the following:
   • Worked: add Public Holiday Worked (1.5) with the hours worked, then add Alt. Public Holiday Earned with their usual daily hours.
   • Didn’t work and it’s an otherwise working day: add Statutory/Public Holiday Taken with their paid daily hours.
5. Click OK and finalise the pay.

Public holiday how‑to: Open article

Read more from Employment NZ: Public holiday pay⁠⁠​

Yes. You can set up pays up to 30 days in advance. In Smartly you can set up pays with Direct Credit dates (DC dates) up to 30 days into the future.

Important: It's important you enter pays in date order i.e. you can't skip a pay period and enter pays for another week, then go back to the period you skipped.

To enter pays in advance, follow the steps below:

1. Head to Pay, Run a Pay and enter the pays for the first pay period as normal. Click Process pay run, enter the Direct Credit date and submit.
2. Now go to the next pay period date by using the arrow on the top right-hand side. Enter the pays and process for the next Direct Credit date.

Learn more about processing multiple future pay periods in our Christmas Guide: Open guide

If the day is an otherwise working day for the employee, pay time and a half for hours worked and grant an alternative holiday. If it’s not their usual working day, pay time and a half only.

1. Go to Pay > Run a pay.
2. Open the employee > Add leave item.
3. Select Public Holiday Worked (1.5), then enter the date and hours worked.
4. If it was their usual working day, click +Add Another Leave Item and select Alt. Public Holiday Earned. Enter the usual daily hours.
5. Click OK and complete the pay.

Minimum rights on public holidays and alternative holidays: Public holidays

If it’s an otherwise working day, pay a full paid day off. If it isn’t an otherwise working day, no payment is due.

1. If it’s an otherwise working day: add Statutory/Public Holiday Taken with their paid daily hours.
2. If it’s not an otherwise working day: no payment is required.

Rights and pay when not working on a public holiday: Public holiday pay and Public holidays rights for employees

A closedown requires at least 14 days’ written notice. Pay people with enough entitlement using Annual Leave; others may require different treatment - contact Helpdesk to set this up correctly.

• Provide at least 14 days’ written notice of the closedown to staff.
• For employees with 12+ months’ service, add Annual Leave Taken to cover the period (if they have entitlement).
• For employees with under 12 months’ service or insufficient entitlement, contact Smartly Helpdesk before running the pay so the correct closedown setup is applied.
• Process the pay as normal once leave items are entered.

Read more from Employment NZ's guidance on closedown periods: Read more

Public holidays are handled separately. If the holiday lands on an otherwise working day, pay the public holiday and do not deduct annual leave for that day. Keep other days as Annual Leave or LWOP as applicable.

• If a public holiday falls on an otherwise working day: add Statutory/Public Holiday Taken for that date.
• Keep adjacent days as Annual Leave or Leave Without Pay as applicable.

Public holidays how‑to: Open article

Read Employment NZ's guide to public holidays during a leave period: Read more

Before final pay, check whether earned leave extends across any public holiday. If so, pay the public holiday entitlement in addition to holiday pay, and process the termination in the next due payroll unless the contract says otherwise.

• Check whether the employee’s earned leave would extend over the public holiday date. If yes, add Statutory/Public Holiday Taken for the holiday date.
• Pay the termination in the next due payroll unless the contract specifies otherwise.
• If there’s any parental leave history or balances look incorrect, contact Helpdesk before processing to ensure correct calculations.

Termination FAQs: Open article

Holiday and leave pay overview, including calculations that affect final pay: Holidays and leave pay

Banks can take longer to process files during the holidays. Finalise pays earlier and allow extra time; Smartly sends bank files as normal and delays are typically on the bank side.

• Finalise pays early.
• Allow extra time for bank processing.

In 2025, Mondayisation doesn’t apply. If you would like to learn more about Mondayisation for future reference, read more here⁠​