Can I Take Sick Leave During Annual Leave in New Zealand?

Yes, but the answer depends entirely on timing. If you become sick before your annual holidays start, your employer must let you take sick leave for that period instead. If you become sick during annual holidays that have already begun, you can only swap to sick leave if your employer agrees.

That distinction is written into the Holidays Act 2003 itself, and it is the single most misunderstood rule in New Zealand leave management. Employers routinely refuse the first scenario (unlawfully) and approve the second automatically (generously, but not because they have to).

Key Takeaways

• Sick before your holidays start: your employer must allow you to take sick leave instead, if you are entitled to it, per Employment New Zealand.
• Sick during your holidays: you can take sick leave instead only if your employer agrees — section 36 of the Holidays Act 2003 is permissive, not mandatory.
• Substituted days come off your sick leave balance and go back onto your annual holidays balance.
• Your employer can ask for proof of sickness, and must pay for it if the absence is under three consecutive calendar days.

The Two Rules: Before vs During Your Annual Holidays

Everything turns on when the illness started relative to the first day of the booked leave.

Situation	Can you use sick leave?	Whose decision?
You fall ill the week before your holidays start	Yes	Your employer must allow it
You fall ill on the morning your holidays start	Yes	Your employer must allow it
You fall ill on day four of a two-week holiday	Only with agreement	Your employer’s discretion
Your partner or dependant falls ill during your holiday	Only with agreement	Your employer’s discretion
You have no sick leave entitlement left	No	Neither — the balance is empty

Note the second row. The trigger is not “have you physically left for the airport” — it is whether the annual holidays period has begun. If you are signed off sick from the Friday and your leave was booked to start the Monday, that leave has not started yet, and the mandatory rule applies.

Why the Law Treats Sick During Annual Leave Differently

The logic is about purpose. Annual holidays exist to give you rest and recreation; sick leave exists to let you recover from illness without losing pay. If you are ill before the holidays begin, the holiday can be preserved for its actual purpose, so the Act protects it.

Once the leave has commenced, Parliament left the call to the parties. Section 36 says an employer may allow an employee taking annual holidays to take sick leave instead — the wording is discretionary. In practice most New Zealand employers do agree, because refusing a documented three-day flu in the middle of a two-week break is a fast way to lose goodwill. But it is a choice, not an obligation, and a policy that says “we do not substitute leave once it has started” is lawful.

Two things your employer cannot do either way: they cannot make you use annual holidays for a genuine sickness absence outside a holiday period, and they cannot refuse a substitution because it is inconvenient if the illness pre-dated the leave.

Worked Example: A Two-Week Holiday Interrupted by Illness

Aroha books 10 working days of annual holidays in September. She has 8 days of sick leave available.

On day three she develops a chest infection, sees a GP, and is unwell for 4 working days. She emails her manager on the first day of illness with the medical certificate. Her employer agrees to the substitution.

The result:

• Sick leave used: 4 days → sick leave balance falls from 8 to 4 days
• Annual holidays deducted: 6 days, not 10
• Annual holidays returned to her balance: 4 days

At her daily rate of $240, that is $960 of annual holidays she keeps rather than spends on being unwell in bed. The pay in her account for that fortnight is essentially unchanged — sick leave and annual holidays are both paid — but the balance outcome is materially different, which is exactly why the request is worth making.

Now change one fact. If Aroha had been diagnosed on the Friday before her leave began, her employer would have had no discretion at all: those 4 days must come off sick leave.

What Proof Can Your Employer Ask For?

Your employer can require proof of sickness. Where the absence is three or more consecutive calendar days, you pay for the medical certificate yourself. Where the employer asks for proof for an absence of fewer than three consecutive calendar days, they must have reasonable grounds to suspect the leave is not genuine, inform you early, and reimburse your reasonable costs, according to Employment New Zealand.

For a mid-holiday substitution, expect proof to be requested more often than usual — that is normal and reasonable. Practical advice: tell your employer on the day you fall ill, not when you return. A request to convert leave retrospectively three weeks later is far more likely to be declined, and far harder to evidence.

What Happens If Your Sick Leave Balance Is Empty

Substitution only works if you have sick leave to substitute. Eligible employees get 10 days of paid sick leave a year after six months, accumulating to a maximum of 20 days, per Employment New Zealand. If that balance is at zero, the annual holidays stand as taken.

Your options then are to ask for sick leave in advance (discretionary), take unpaid leave, or simply accept the annual holidays deduction. Our full guide to sick leave entitlements in New Zealand covers how the balance builds and when it resets.

Do Public Holidays During Annual Holidays Work the Same Way?

No, and this one is not discretionary at all. If a public holiday falls on a day that would otherwise be a working day for you while you are on annual holidays, it is paid as a public holiday and is not deducted from your annual holidays balance. That matters most over the Christmas–New Year period, when up to four public holidays can sit inside a single block of leave. See our 2026 New Zealand public holidays guide for the dates.

What This Means for You

If you are an employee, act on the day. Report the illness immediately, get evidence, and ask in writing for the days to be treated as sick leave — noting explicitly whether the illness began before or after your leave started.

If you are an employer, write the position into your leave policy rather than deciding case by case. State that pre-leave illness converts automatically (because it must), and state clearly what your practice is for mid-leave illness, including the proof you expect and the deadline for telling you. Consistency here is what keeps a discretionary decision from looking like favouritism. Our guide to annual holidays in New Zealand covers how these balances interact across a full leave year.

Leave Balance keeps sick leave and annual holidays as separate, auditable balances, so converting four days from one to the other is a single action with a record attached — not a spreadsheet edit someone has to remember to make. Flat $10/month, unlimited employees, 14-day free trial.

This article is general information about New Zealand employment law as at July 2026 and is not legal advice. The Employment Leave Bill 2026 would replace the Holidays Act 2003 from 2028 if passed. Check Employment New Zealand or take advice for your situation.