Employment & leave New Zealand
Annual Leave Calculator NZ
New Zealand employees earn four weeks of paid annual holidays for each year of continuous employment, available once they have worked 12 months. This calculator shows how much you have earned since you started, what you have used and what is left, in weeks and in dollars.
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Four weeks is the legal minimum. Some agreements give five.
Annual leave balance
—Weeks earned so far
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Weeks taken
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Weeks left
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Hours left
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Value of the weeks left
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Entitled to take leave yet?
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The working
Working with a different rate? Edit the rates this calculator uses
These are the figures we verified on 2026-10-26. Change them to work with a historic period, or with a new rate that has been announced but which we have not published yet.
Holidays Act 2003
Holidays Act 2003
A guide, not your payroll balance. The Holidays Act 2003 sets four weeks as a minimum, and the entitlement is earned in a 12-month cycle from your start date rather than as a running balance, so an employer's payroll may differ. The Act is due to be replaced by the Employment Leave Act 2026, which starts accruing leave from the first day, with reports putting the change in 2028.
How much annual leave do I get in NZ?
Four weeks of paid annual holidays for each 12 months of continuous employment, and you become entitled to take them after the first 12 months. Month by month that is about 0.33 weeks. At $1,200 a week, four weeks is $4,800, and the leave is paid at the greater of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings.
Entitlement and accrual
Employees who work for 12 months continuously are entitled to four weeks of paid annual holidays, and the employer cannot require you to take them before they are earned. The leave is usually taken at a time that suits both you and the business, and an employer can require you to take it with 14 days' notice during a shutdown.
Employers who pay holiday pay with wages, for fixed-term or irregular workers, do not give annual holidays in the same way.
Cashing up
Employees can ask to cash up to one week of annual holidays each year, if their employer agrees, though four weeks should still be taken. An employer cannot force you to cash up.
To work out the pay for leave, use the holiday pay calculator.
How this is calculated
The rule, step by step, so you can check any figure by hand.
entitlement earned = months worked ÷ 12 × weeks per year (4)weeks left = earned − weeks takenhours left = weeks left × weekly hoursvalue = weeks left × ordinary weekly pay (holiday pay is the greater of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings)
Under the current Holidays Act you earn the right to four weeks after 12 months of continuous employment, so for the first year the accrual figure here is an estimate of what you will be entitled to, not leave you can take yet. From then on each 12-month period gives a new four weeks, which can be taken at a time agreed with your employer.
The Employment Leave Act 2026, once in force, accrues leave progressively from your first day in hours, which will change how balances show.
A worked example
18 months of employment at $1,200 a week, with two weeks already taken.
- Weeks earned, 18 ÷ 12 × 46.0
- Taken2.0
- Weeks left4.0
- Value at $1,200$4,800
- Hours left at 40 a week160
Four weeks left, worth about $4,800.
In practice the first four weeks became available at 12 months.
Leave on leaving
Unused annual holidays are paid out when employment ends. Holiday pay in that case is based on the leave still owing, or 8% of gross earnings if you have not yet earned an entitlement.
What it leaves out
Public holidays that fall in leave, sick leave and extra employer leave are separate. Your payroll record is the official balance.
What this calculator does not do
- Four weeks as the default
- Current Holidays Act, not the 2026 replacement
- Accrual shown as a running estimate
- Your payroll balance is the official figure
Common questions
How many weeks of annual leave do I get in NZ?
Four weeks a year after 12 months of continuous employment.
Can I take leave in my first year?
Only if your employer agrees. The legal entitlement starts after 12 months.
Is annual leave paid at my normal pay?
At the greater of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings.
Can my employer make me take leave?
Yes, for a shutdown, with notice of at least 14 days.
Is the Holidays Act changing?
Yes, to the Employment Leave Act 2026, reported to take effect in 2028.
Where these numbers come from
- Employment New Zealand — annual holidays Four weeks of annual holidays and how holiday pay is calculated
- Employment New Zealand — Employment Leave Bill 2026 The replacement for the Holidays Act
Rates last verified 2026-10-26 Every figure Employment New Zealand sets is re-checked against the source at least once a year, and again whenever a change is announced. Out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
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