What Happens When A Public Holiday Falls In A Pay Period?

If a public holiday falls inside the pay period, Lightning Payroll detects it and prompts you when you save the pay. The prompt is there to make sure you record the day correctly under the Holidays Act.

What the prompt asks

The pay screen will list the public holiday date and name and ask whether the employee:

• Did not work the day (it was an otherwise working day, so they are paid Relevant Daily Pay).
• Worked the day (they receive time-and-a-half plus an alternative holiday if it was an otherwise working day).
• Was not entitled (the day was not otherwise a working day for them).

What Lightning Payroll does

• If the day is paid at ordinary rates, the public holiday hours are added to the pay using the employee's day rate.
• If the day is worked at time-and-a-half, the loaded rate is applied and an alternative holiday grant is added to the leave balance.
• If the day is not an otherwise working day, the pay is left alone but the prompt records the decision.

Where the public holiday list comes from

The list is built from the standard New Zealand public holidays calendar, including provincial anniversary days for the company's region. Update the region in the company settings if anniversary days are showing for the wrong province.