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A bill to allow shift workers to transfer their public holidays was introduced to Parliament this week.
The Holidays (Transfer of Public Holidays) Amendment Bill affects workers whose shift crossed midnight on a public holiday.
Explaining the planned change last month Labour Minister Trevor Mallard said the Holidays Act intended to allow the transfer of a public holiday from a day listed in the Act to another day for reasons of cultural or personal significance, or convenience.
However, a recent Supreme Court decision - New Zealand Airline Pilots' Association Industrial Union of Workers Incorporated v Air New Zealand Ltd - had ruled that an employer and employee could not transfer a public holiday from a day listed in the Act to another day.
"This has had a significant effect on many businesses that operate shifts that span two calendar days," Mr Mallard said.
Until the court decision where a shift had ended on a public holiday, many businesses had had agreements with their workers to transfer the public holiday to the following shift the employee would have worked.
The bill was introduced on Wednesday.
- NZPA
