​What a ride 2022 has been!  A little different to the last couple of years with no lockdowns thankfully but still plenty of highs and lows to keep us all on the very tips of our toes.

As we head into that glorious time of the year in which most of us have the privilege of not knowing what the date is let alone the day, it’s time for HR Staff n’ Stuff to take all the confusion out of what’s a public holiday and what’s not and what that actually means for those of you who remain operational.

​X = not a gazetted public holiday.  Normal rates as per award/EBA as per the day apply.

​X = not a gazetted public holiday.  Normal rates as per award/EBA as per the day apply.

The big questions – who gets paid and what do they get paid?
As always, it is extremely important that you pay your employees correctly so to help you work out what needs to happen with all the additional public holidays, read on…

If your full or part time employee usually works on a day that is deemed a Public Holiday, it is categorised as a paid day without working.

If the public holiday falls on a day that an employee is not normally rostered to work, you don’t need to do anything.

For example, your part time interior designer works Monday and Tuesday every week in Victoria.  You will need to pay her for normal rates for both the 26th and 27th December, as well as the 2nd January.  These days are not deducted from her annual leave balance as they are gazetted public holidays.  You do not need to pay her for 26th January as it is a Thursday and that is not a normal workday for her.

If your business has a shutdown period that has been communicated clearly and as per any award / EBA requirements, your team can use their annual leave (if accrued) or unpaid leave (no leave accrued) for those days on which you are closed for business, and it is not a public holiday.

But what if I swap the roster around?
If you have a part time employee who usually works Monday and Tuesday, you can’t simply ‘swap the days’ and roster the person to work Thursday and Friday instead.  You are legally obligated to pay your employee for these days and they are entitled to enjoy their time off.  If you require the employee to work on the actual days, then penalty rates apply. If you request them to work two days later in the week, they are still entitled to be paid their normal rate for the Monday and Tuesday, and then the applicable rate for the additional days based on your award. Some awards require overtime rates to apply for days worked that are in additional to the contracted usual hours, so check your contract and your award!
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If you are still unsure as to how to apply your respective Award or EBA, contact the HR Staff n’ Stuff team for advice!