Holidays Act 2003

No. The Employment Leave Bill passed its third and final reading on 29 July 2026, but the official legislation still identified it as a Bill on 10 August 2026.

The Holidays Act 2003 therefore remains the current law. Employers should keep using its rules for leave calculations, payments and records.

Keep applying the current rules for annual holidays, public holidays, sick leave, bereavement leave and related entitlements. Time, pay and leave records still need to support the calculations made.

Existing payroll checks and remediation projects should also continue under the Holidays Act 2003. Final reading of the Bill does not pause or replace those obligations.

The Bill proposes an hours-based framework using standard hours, additional hours and casual hours, with notional roster rules where relevant. It also proposes a 12.5 percent leave compensation payment for additional and casual hours.

Those are proposed future settings, not current payroll instructions. The Bill proposes to start on the second anniversary of Royal Assent, but no actual commencement date can be stated until Royal Assent occurs.

Prepare the information and project plan, not a premature payroll change. Review hours clauses, rosters, timesheets, leave balances and payroll fields so the business understands its current data quality.

When the Bill's legal status changes, recheck the final legislation, Royal Assent date and official implementation guidance before configuring or testing the replacement rules.