Get a comprehensive understanding of the new Employment Leave Act 2026 with NZPPA’s Complete 7-Webinar OnDemand Learning Pack.

NZPPA has developed a comprehensive collection of OnDemand webinars covering the key areas payroll practitioners need to understand as they prepare for the new Employment Leave Act. Together, these seven webinars provide 19.5 hours of practical information, along with comprehensive webinar notes and supporting materials for each topic.

The programme covers the new legislative framework, employment agreements, notional rosters, payroll calculations and statutory tests, FBAPS leave, closedowns, parental leave, ACC, unpaid leave and annual leave.

You can purchase the complete seven-webinar pack or select individual webinars.

Who Should Attend

Payroll practitioners, payroll managers, HR professionals, payroll software users, employment relations advisers, and anyone responsible for payroll compliance or preparing for the new Employment Leave Act.

Webinar 1: Introduction to the Employment Leave Act 2026 for Payroll Practitioners

This introductory 3.5-hour webinar provides payroll practitioners with a practical introduction to the new Employment Leave Act. It explains the new framework, introduces the key concepts and terminology, and outlines the major payroll implications to help organisations begin preparing for implementation.

This webinar provides the first step towards understanding the Employment Leave Act. It introduces the new legislative framework, explains the key concepts that underpin the Act, and outlines how payroll, HR and employment records will be affected.

The webinar is designed as an introductory overview only and does not cover detailed calculations, advanced technical scenarios or transitional implementation rules.

Key Topics:

• Why the Holidays Act 2003 is being replaced and what changes under the new framework.
• The new working-hours framework, including standard, additional, casual and availability hours.
• Leave Compensation Payments (LCP) and their relationship to leave accrual.
• Annual leave, sick leave, bereavement leave and family violence leave under the new Act.
• Public holidays, alternative leave and otherwise working day rules.
• Employment agreements, working patterns, multiple roles and employee records.
• Payroll record-keeping, pay statements and system preparation.

Webinar 2: Employment Agreement Readiness for the New Employment Leave Act

This practical 3-hour webinar helps payroll, HR and employment professionals understand how employment agreements interact with the new Employment Leave Act and what changes organisations should review.

Employment agreement wording has a significant influence on how the Employment Leave Act operates in payroll. This webinar examines employment agreements from a payroll perspective, helping attendees identify provisions that should be retained, clarified or amended, while distinguishing employment agreement requirements from matters better addressed through workplace policies, payroll procedures or system configuration.

The webinar also explores how contractual leave entitlements above the statutory minimum may interact with the new legislation and what employers should review before implementation.

Key Topics:

• How employment agreements influence leave accrual and leave payments.
• Standard, additional, casual and availability hours.
• Pay structures, allowances, multiple roles and employment types.
• Leave provisions, public holidays, closedowns and final pay.
• Employment agreement wording versus workplace policies and payroll procedures.
• Preparing payroll and HR teams for implementation.

Webinar 3: Introduction to Notional Rosters Under the Employment Leave Act for Payroll

This introductory 2-hour webinar provides payroll practitioners with a clear foundation in the purpose and operation of notional rosters. It explains when a notional roster may be needed, how it differs from an employment agreement and an operational work roster, and why payroll will need access to accurate and current working-pattern information.

Notional rosters are a new and important feature of the Employment Leave legislation. They will be required where an employee has standard hours, but their employment agreement does not fully specify the days and times those hours are to be worked.

For payroll, the notional roster will help establish when an employee is expected to work and, consequently, when certain types of leave may be taken, paid and deducted. This makes accurate roster information essential to the operation of the new hours-based leave framework.

The webinar will introduce the effect notional rosters may have on annual leave, sick leave, bereavement leave and family violence leave. It will also identify the basic employment agreement, payroll system, record-keeping and process changes organisations should begin considering before the new legislation is implemented.

This is an introductory programme. It is intended to build awareness and understanding of the new concepts and their payroll implications. It will not attempt to cover every complex calculation, exception or transitional provision.

Key Topics:

• What is a notional roster?
• When might a notional roster be required?
• Employment agreements, work rosters and notional rosters.
• Information expected in a notional roster.
• Effect on annual leave.
• Effect on sick leave.
• Effect on bereavement and family violence leave.
• Relationship with public holidays.
• Keeping a notional roster current.
• Introductory payroll system considerations.
• Common payroll risks.

Webinar 4: Introduction to the New Calculations and Statutory Tests Under the Employment Leave Act for Payroll

This introductory 2-hour webinar provides payroll practitioners with an overview of the principal calculations and statutory tests that will underpin leave processing under the new legislation.

The Employment Leave Act introduces a substantially different framework for calculating, paying, deducting and recording statutory leave. Payroll practitioners will need to move away from many of the existing weeks-, days- and variable-earnings-based calculations under the Holidays Act 2003 to a predominantly hours-based system supported by new statutory formulas and tests.

The webinar will explain how annual and sick leave accrue in hours, how leave hours and part-days are determined, how the new otherwise-working-day tests operate, and how public-holiday and alternative-leave entitlements are established. It will also introduce the common leave hourly rate, the treatment of qualifying fixed allowances and the 12.5% Leave Compensation Payment applying to additional and casual hours.

Practical examples will demonstrate that payroll cannot correctly process leave by applying a calculation alone. It must first identify the employee’s working arrangement, classify their hours correctly, apply the relevant statutory test and determine the hours to which the calculation applies.

This introductory webinar is designed to build awareness and provide a practical foundation. It will not attempt to provide advanced calculation training or address every exception, transitional provision or industry-specific arrangement.

Key Topics:

• Introducing the new calculation framework.
• Standard, additional and casual hours.
• Annual leave accrual calculation.
• Sick leave accrual calculation.
• The Leave Compensation Payment calculation.
• Tests for determining when leave may be taken.
• Calculating annual and sick leave taken in hours.
• Calculating part-day bereavement and family violence leave.
• The otherwise-working-day tests.
• Determining relevant public-holiday hours.
• Public-holiday payment tests and calculations.
• Alternative leave calculation.
• Introduction to the common leave hourly rate.
• Salaried employee calculation.
• Waged, piece-rate and commission employees.
• Qualifying fixed allowances.

Webinar 5: FBAPS Leave Under the Employment Leave Act 2026

This practical 3-hour webinar focuses on the rules, eligibility requirements and calculations payroll practitioners will need to understand when managing FBAPS leave under the new Employment Leave Act.

FBAPS covers family violence leave, bereavement leave, alternative leave, public holidays and sick leave. The new legislation introduces changes to how these leave types are assessed, processed, paid and recorded. Payroll practitioners will need to understand the relevant eligibility requirements, working-hour information and statutory tests to ensure employees receive the correct entitlements.

This webinar explores the differences between the current Holidays Act 2003 and the new framework, using practical payroll situations to explain how leave is determined and processed.

Key Topics:

• Family violence leave and eligibility requirements.
• Bereavement leave and applicable statutory entitlements.
• Alternative leave and the circumstances in which it applies.
• Public holidays and otherwise-working-day tests.
• Sick leave entitlements and calculations.
• Employment agreements, standard hours and working rosters.
• Calculating and recording leave payments.
• Practical payroll situations involving part-time, variable and casual employees.
• Payroll records and the information needed to support accurate leave processing.

Webinar 6: Closedowns, Parental Leave, ACC and Unpaid Leave Under the Employment Leave Act 2026

This practical 3-hour webinar explores the rules, tests and calculations payroll practitioners need to manage closedowns, parental leave, ACC absences and unpaid leave.

When an employee is away from work, payroll must establish how the absence affects leave accrual, entitlement to other leave and the amount to pay. A closedown, parental leave, an ACC absence and agreed unpaid leave can require different decisions under the Employment Leave Act 2026.

This webinar explains the rules and calculations payroll will need for these situations. Participants will work through examples showing how to identify the relevant hours, apply the appropriate leave rules and record the resulting accrual, payment or deduction.

The session also highlights key changes from the Holidays Act 2003 and the information payroll needs from managers, employment agreements and rosters.

Key Topics:

• Closedowns – rules, notice requirements, directing annual leave, insufficient balances, leave in advance and unpaid leave.
• Parental leave – interaction with the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987, leave accrual, access to other leave and leave payments on return to work.
• ACC and returning to work – the relationship between accident compensation and leave, using leave alongside compensation and gradual returns to work.
• Unpaid leave – distinguishing agreed unpaid leave from statutory leave and determining the effect on accrual, other leave and public holidays.
• Rules and tests – identifying the relevant provisions, exclusions, exceptions and conditions that apply to each absence.
• Calculations – determining qualifying hours, calculating leave accrual and payments, balance deductions and unpaid shortfalls.
• Practical payroll situations – examples involving mixed periods of absence, partial returns to work, leave alongside ACC compensation and annual closedowns.
• Payroll records and systems – identifying the approvals, records, information and system checks needed to support accurate payroll treatment.

Webinar 7: Annual Leave Under the Employment Leave Act 2026 – From Accrual to Final Pay

This introductory 3-hour webinar follows annual leave from an employee’s first accrual through to final pay, explaining how the new Employment Leave Act changes the way annual leave is earned, taken, recorded and paid.

Through practical payroll examples, participants will explore annual leave accrual, leave requests, payment calculations and the information needed from employment agreements and rosters. The webinar also covers leave in advance, cashing up, directing leave, closedowns and the records needed to support accurate processing.

The session will help payroll practitioners understand the move from the current weeks-based approach to the new hours-based framework, including the treatment of standard, additional and casual hours and the effect of changing working patterns.

Key Topics:

• The new annual leave framework – the move from weeks to hours, who qualifies, when leave becomes available and the main differences from the Holidays Act 2003.
• How annual leave accrues – accrual from the start of employment, the minimum rate of 0.0769 hours per qualifying standard hour, identifying standard hours and the treatment of additional and casual hours through Leave Compensation Payments.
• What affects accrual and balances – changes between full-time and part-time hours, variable and seasonal patterns, multiple roles, carrying leave forward and the effects of other leave and absences.
• Taking annual leave – requesting and agreeing leave, taking hours or part-days, opportunities for an uninterrupted break and using employment agreements, notional rosters and work rosters to identify the hours to deduct.
• Annual leave in advance – employer approval, documenting the arrangement, recording and monitoring negative balances and lawful recovery considerations if employment ends before the leave has been earned.
• Requiring annual leave and managing closedowns – conditions for directing leave, notice requirements, accumulated balances and options where an employee has insufficient leave.
• Cashing up annual leave – eligibility, annual limits, employee requests, employer decisions, calculating payments and updating records.
• Calculating annual leave pay and payment timing – the hourly payment approach for salaried and waged employees, different rates, fixed allowances, commission, piece rates and pay changes.
• Interaction with other leave – public holidays during annual leave, sickness, injury, bereavement or family violence and when another entitlement applies.
• When employment or a role ends – calculating and paying unused leave, outstanding leave in advance, public holiday implications and leave transfers during restructuring.
• Practical payroll examples and questions – new starters, changing hours, part-day requests, closedowns with insufficient leave, cash-up requests and final pay.

Learning Outcomes

By completing the seven webinars, participants will be able to:

1. Explain why the Holidays Act 2003 is being replaced and describe the structure, purpose and key concepts of the Employment Leave Act 2026.
2. Recognise the new working-hour categories and understand how standard hours, additional hours, casual hours, availability hours and notional rosters affect payroll processing.
3. Understand how employment agreements, working patterns, notional rosters and payroll information interact with the new framework.
4. Identify the principal payroll calculations and statutory tests introduced by the new legislation, including annual leave, sick leave, public holidays, alternative leave and Leave Compensation Payments.
5. Understand the new rules for FBAPS leave, including eligibility, leave taken, payments and record-keeping requirements.
6. Apply the relevant rules and tests to closedowns, parental leave, ACC absences and unpaid leave, and understand how these situations affect leave accrual and payments.
7. Understand how annual leave will accrue, be taken and be paid under the new framework, including leave in advance, cash-ups, closedowns and final pay.
8. Recognise the practical employment agreement, payroll, HR, system and record-keeping changes organisations should begin preparing for.

Practical Outcome

Together, the seven webinars provide a structured introduction to the Employment Leave Act 2026, taking participants from the overall legislative framework through to the practical payroll rules, calculations and processes required under the new legislation.

Attendees will gain a broader understanding of employment agreements, working patterns, notional rosters, leave eligibility, payroll calculations, statutory tests and the treatment of different leave types.

The programme also helps payroll practitioners identify the employment agreement, payroll system, record-keeping and process changes organisations should begin considering before the new legislation is implemented.

What is Included in the OnDemand Pack

• 7 OnDemand webinars providing a total of 19.5 hours of information.
• Webinar recording for each topic.
• Comprehensive webinar notes for each webinar.
• Webinar presentation slides, if used.
• Questions and answers from the webinars.
• Additional supporting documents, where provided.
• Presenter’s contact email for follow-up questions, where provided.

OnDemand Webinar Information

All seven webinars are available OnDemand, allowing participants to watch the recordings at a time that suits them.

Once your purchase is confirmed, you will receive access to the webinar recordings and available supporting materials.

Cost

Complete 7-Webinar OnDemand Pack:

• NZPPA Member: [Confirm 7-webinar pack price] + GST
• NZPPA Non-member: [Confirm 7-webinar pack price] + GST

Individual webinars may also be purchased separately. Refer to the individual webinar listings above for pricing.

*Content may be updated as further legislative changes become known.