Grey outside? Relax - you live in the world’s workforce Godzone
Sunday, 25 January 2026
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Kevin Norquay is a senior writer for The Post and Sunday Star-Times. This is his weekly explainer.
It’s grey and cold, you’re back at work with an email inbox pinging angrily so what’s to be happy about? Try this - another holiday is not far away.
New Zealand has more public holidays than most Western nations; 11 each year, not counting regional anniversary days.
On top of that there’s a minimum four weeks’ paid annual leave, which is also generous by global standards.
Our longest stretch without a public holiday is months away - from mid‑October to Christmas, or roughly two months. Clever Canterbury, Westland and Marlborough sneak their anniversary day in there to ease the pain.
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So if you’re back at your desk following Bleak Beach, then perk up - Waitangi Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Anzac Day are spread along the calendar like road humps on a quiet suburban street (only more pleasant).
Look at the US and be grateful - they have internal political turmoil combined with 11 public holidays - but how many of them you get as paid days off can be as low as six.
Easter isn’t even among them - the ones New Zealand doesn’t have are Martin Luther King Jr Day, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus/Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving.
Our 11 national holidays clearly beat the likes of Vietnam, Mexico, England, Wales and the Netherlands. None of them reach 10.
If 11 still isn’t enough for you, then look up to Nepal, which is the highest in the world for both mountains and public holidays - there are more than 35.
Sri Lanka has about 25, so Myanmar and Iran too.
Does New Zealand have enough public holidays? Or too many? Leave a comment below
Our legislation providing for paid holidays developed slowly. European settlers, arriving from 1840, introduced customary holidays such as Christmas and New Year, Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand says.
People (and often entire towns) would close their businesses or stop work for those days.
In 1873 the Bank Holidays Act was the first holiday legislation, ruling banks should shut on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday and the sovereign’s birthday.
Also in 1873 the Employment of Females Act entitled women employees to at least four paid statutory holidays per year, with the 1891 Factories Act 1891 adding males under the age of 18 to that.
The Annual Holidays Act 1944 granted two weeks’ paid holiday to all. It was raised to three weeks in 1974. And four in 2007. All under Labour-led governments.
Hansard records Hamilton West MP Martin Gallagher (Labour) defending the 2007 change.
“[Under previous changes] did the economy fall over? Did the world collapse? No, it did not.”
Paid annual leave helped give us our summer tradition - taking a family holiday over Christmas and New Year. By the 1920s it was becoming common. The ‘Christmas close-down’ came after the Annual Holidays Act 1944.
And so, New Zealand’s annual leave also tops the likes of the US, which has no federally mandated paid annual leave at all; that is agreed between employer and employee.
No US state mandates holidays, though some require employers to provide a minimum amount of all-purpose leave.
Australia has a similar layered system to the US: seven nationwide holidays for everyone, then each state has the power to declare its own 'extra' days.
So ACT and Victoria top the list on 13 full days (some states offer part days), and Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia trail on 11.
In Singapore and Canada, minimum paid leave starts at around 7-10 days.
And so back to world-leader Nepal, where public holidays are held for religious festivals, cultural events, and national events.
The number of holidays is boosted by the population including so many religions, ethnic groups, and regional traditions.
Some holidays apply only to specific communities, regions, or demographic groups, while Buddhists, Christians, and Hindus all have national celebrations.
National days celebrate Nepali New Year, mark the country’s life as a republic, the start of the constitution, those who have died for Nepal, and democracy movements.
So buckle up, perk up, send an email and start counting down - Waitangi Day is closer than you think, and you’ve earned every single second of it.
Probably it will bloody rain.
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