Working on public holidays

Employees get paid at least their base pay rate for all hours worked on a public holiday.

Awards, enterprise agreements and other registered agreements can provide entitlements for working public holidays, including:

• extra pay (eg. public holiday rates)
• an extra day off or extra annual leave
• minimum shift lengths on public holidays
• agreeing to substitute a public holiday for another day.

Requesting and refusing to work on public holidays

Employees don’t have to work on a public holiday.

However, an employer can ask an employee to work on a public holiday, if the request is reasonable. An employee may refuse a request to work if they have reasonable grounds.

The following need to be taken into account when deciding if a request is reasonable:

• the employee’s personal circumstances, (eg. family responsibilities)
• whether the employee will get more pay (eg. penalty rates)
• the needs of the workplace
• the type of work the employee does
• whether the employee’s salary includes work on a public holiday
• whether the employee is full-time, part-time, casual or a shiftworker
• how much notice the employee was given about working
• the amount of notice the employee gives that they refuse to work.

When requesting that an employee work on a public holiday, employers need to consider all relevant circumstances, including the ones listed above.