This example article explains the relationship between leave without pay (LWOP) and public holidays in a timesheet.
Updated: August 2024
The public holiday falls during my employee's leave without pay, on a day they would normally have worked. Do I need to pay them for this public holiday? What do I enter in their timesheet - LWOP, paid public holiday off or nothing at all?
Let's break down this example.
On this public holiday, this employee is:
| ❌ | Working any hours for which they must be paid. |
| ❌ | They are on call (For On Call examples, go here) |
| ✅ | This day is a day they would normally work if it wasn't a public holiday and they weren't on holidays, according to their work pattern (OWD) |
| ✅ | They are on a form of UNPAID Leave |
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A period of unpaid leave is not considered otherwise working days, so entitlements do not apply for this period.
*There are exceptions to this, so please get case-specific advice from Employment New Zealand if you are unsure.
Their timesheet should have this for the public holiday:
| ✅ | No entry for this public holiday (Unpaid) |
Here is a timesheet example:
- Leave the timesheet entry blank for this public holiday.
- Do not generate a timesheet if the employee is on LWOP for the entire pay period. This keeps your costs down.
