Annual Leave Balance Calculator NZ
Plan whether your indicative leave balance will cover a future break, while keeping the current Holidays Act's weeks-based entitlement clear.
Projected balance
104.04 hoursAfter 13 weeks
Indicative accrual
40.04 hours3.08 hours per week
Equivalent leave
13.01 days2.60 working weeks
Indicative value
$3,641.40Not a final leave-pay calculation
Under the current Holidays Act, the minimum entitlement becomes 4 weeks after 12 months of continuous employment. A payroll balance shown earlier may be an indicative accrual rather than entitled annual holidays.
Leave is measured in weeks. Hours and days here assume a stable 5-day, ordinary-hours pattern; changing work patterns, leave anniversaries and payroll rounding can produce a different balance.
Actual annual leave pay uses the greater of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings when leave is taken.
Entitlement, accrual and leave pay are different
Employees become entitled to at least four weeks of annual holidays after 12 months of continuous employment. Payroll systems often show an hours-based figure before or between anniversaries, but that figure can be an indicative accrual used for planning rather than the employee's legal weeks-based entitlement.
When leave is taken, the payment calculation is separate: annual holidays are generally paid at the greater of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings. Use the NZ holiday pay calculator for OWP vs AWE, public holidays and final pay.
Current law used
The Employment Leave Bill introduced in 2026 is not yet in force. This page uses the Holidays Act 2003 rules currently applying.
Frequently asked questions
Does annual leave legally accrue by the hour in NZ?
Under the current Holidays Act, the minimum entitlement becomes four weeks after 12 months. Payroll may display an indicative hours balance, but the legal entitlement is measured in weeks.
How many hours of annual leave accrue each week?
For planning only, this calculator spreads the annual entitlement across 52 weeks. For 40 ordinary hours and four weeks per year, that is about 3.08 indicative hours per week.
Is the projected dollar value my holiday pay?
No. Actual annual leave pay is generally the greater of ordinary weekly pay and average weekly earnings when leave is taken. The hourly value here is only a planning estimate.
Official source: Employment New Zealand — annual holidays. Checked July 2026.
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