The National Day of Mourning - What you need to know
Australia has declared 22 September 2022 as a national public holiday, in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.
Employers are often confused about their obligations in relation to public holidays, including whether they can ask their employees to work on a public holiday and how much to pay their employees for public holidays (whether they work on the day, or not).
Can I ask my employees to work on 22 September?
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, an employee does not have to work on a public holiday.
An employer can reasonably request the employee work, but the employee can also reasonably refuse this request.
The following will be taken into account to determine if an employer’s request to work or an employee’s refusal of the request is reasonable:
the nature of the employer’s business and its operational requirements
the nature of the employee’s work
the employee’s personal circumstances, including family responsibilities
whether the employee is entitled to receive additional or higher rates of pay for working on the public holiday
the type of employment (e.g. full time, part time, casual or shift work)
whether any advance notice was provided
the amount of notice in advance of the public holiday given by the employer when making the request
any other relevant matter
What do I need to pay my employees if they perform work on the public holiday?
An employee who performs work on a public holiday must be paid any penalty rates which apply.
The enterprise agreement or modern award applicable to their position will set those penalty rates.
Where no enterprise agreement or modern award applies, their employment contract may provide for penalty rates.
What if my employees do not perform work on the public holiday?
An employee who is absent from work on the 22 September, but would ordinarily be rostered on that day, must be paid their normal all-purpose or base rate of pay for their ordinary hours of work.
If an employee is not ordinarily rostered on that day (e.g. a part time employee who does not work on a Thursday), they do not need to be paid.
For any queries about public holiday obligations, or any other matter, please contact our employment law team.
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