How the working days are counted
The calculator goes through every date in your range, one day at a time, and sorts each day into one of three piles.
- Weekend days: every Saturday and Sunday.
- Public holidays: the 11 national public holidays, plus your region's anniversary day if you pick one.
- Working days: everything else. That's the big number.
Public holidays use the Mondayised date. When Christmas falls on a Saturday, for example, the calculator takes out the Monday instead. A holiday is never counted twice, and a weekend day is never counted as a holiday.
By default the start and end dates are both counted. Untick either box to leave that day out. Leaving out the start date is handy when you want the days "from tomorrow".
Adding working days to a date
Switch to Add days to find the date that is a set number of working days away. The start date is day zero, so 1 working day after a Monday is the Tuesday. Weekends and public holidays are stepped over.
For example, 10 working days after Monday 21 December 2026 is Friday 8 January 2027. Christmas Day, Boxing Day (observed Monday 28 December), New Year's Day and the day after New Year's are all skipped along the way.
Worked examples
| Period | Working days | What's taken out |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026, Auckland | 21 | 9 weekend days, no public holidays |
| November 2026, Canterbury | 20 | 9 weekend days, Show Day (Fri 13 Nov) |
| November 2026, Marlborough | 20 | 9 weekend days, anniversary day (Mon 2 Nov) |
| December 2026 | 21 | 8 weekend days, Christmas Day, Boxing Day (Mon 28 Dec) |
| March 2027 | 21 | 8 weekend days, Good Friday, Easter Monday |
| March 2027, Otago or Southland | 20 | As above, plus the anniversary day |
| All of 2026 | 250 | 104 weekend days, 11 public holidays |
| All of 2027 | 250 | 104 weekend days, 11 public holidays |
Every regional anniversary day in 2026 and 2027 falls on a weekday. So if you get one, take one more day off the yearly total: 249 working days.
Want the full list of dates, with a countdown?
See every NZ public holiday →Questions people ask
How many working days are there in 2026 in New Zealand?
250, after taking out 104 weekend days and 11 national public holidays. If you also get a regional anniversary day, it's 249. 2027 works out the same.
How many working days are in November 2026?
21 for most of New Zealand, including Auckland. It's 20 in Canterbury, Marlborough, Westland and the Chatham Islands, because their anniversary days fall in November.
Does the calculator count the start and end dates?
Yes, both are counted by default. Untick either box to leave that day out.
What happens when a public holiday falls on a weekend?
The calculator uses the Mondayised date most people get off. The weekend day counts as a weekend day, and the Monday (or Tuesday) counts as the public holiday.
Can I count working days in 2028?
Public holidays are loaded for 2026 and 2027 only. Outside those years the calculator still takes out weekends, but not holidays, and it tells you when that happens.
Does this calculator store what I type?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser, and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Sources: Employment New Zealand, Public holidays and anniversary dates and When a public holiday falls on a weekend. Dates checked October 2026.