Table of contents
What is an otherwise working day?
Also referred to as an 'OWD', an otherwise working day is in principle a day on which an employee would have worked, had they not taken holidays or leave on the day in question.
Otherwise working days:
Determine an employee's eligibility to payment of leave on days taken as leave.
Determine an employee's eligibility to alternative leave credits when public holidays are worked.
Are used if public holidays observed have been agreed to be transferred.
The New Zealand Holidays Act 2003 provides employees with entitlement to paid public holidays, alternative holidays, sick leave, bereavement leave and family violence leave where such days fall on an otherwise working day.
While the Act only makes explicit reference to otherwise working days in the context of FBAPS leave, the concept also applies to annual leave when taking less than a week off, for example if a day’s annual leave is requested, or if paying a day as annual leave where the employee's work pattern varies. In these cases, the same things should be considered when determining if a day is an OWD for the purpose of providing the employee a paid day off as annual leave.
There is a lot more to know about OWDs, so select an option below to continue learning.