Public holidays¶

A public holiday is a day set aside for the whole community, such as a national or state holiday. Under the National Employment Standards, an employee has the right to be away from work on a public holiday.

If the employee would normally work on the day the public holiday falls, they are also paid for it — at their base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked.

In one line

Employees can be away from work on a public holiday and, if they would normally work that day, are paid their base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked.

Why this matters¶

Public holidays affect both the roster and the pay run. Knowing who is entitled to be away, and how a public holiday is paid, helps you run pay correctly and answer staff questions about their holiday pay.

What you will learn¶

The right to be away from work on a public holiday
How a public holiday is paid when an employee normally works that day
When an employer can ask an employee to work a public holiday

Understanding the concept¶

Fair Work explains that employees have a right to be away from work on a public holiday. This is part of the National Employment Standards.

Being paid for the day. An employee (other than a casual) who would normally work on the day the public holiday falls is paid their base rate of pay for the ordinary hours they would have worked, as if they had not been away because of the holiday. If an employee does not normally work on that day, they do not get paid for it. The base rate is the employee's ordinary pay, without extras like penalty rates, loadings, allowances or overtime.

Being asked to work. An employer can ask an employee to work on a public holiday, but the request has to be reasonable. The employee can refuse if they have reasonable grounds. Whether a request or a refusal is reasonable depends on things like the needs of the workplace, the type of work, the employee's personal circumstances, how much notice was given, and the type of employment.

Extra pay for working. If an employee works on a public holiday, any extra pay for those hours — often called a penalty rate — comes from the relevant award or agreement, not from a single national rate. So the extra amount can differ depending on which award or agreement applies.

For accountants & bookkeepers

Fair Work also notes that when a public holiday falls during a period of paid leave (for example annual leave), the employee is paid for the public holiday, and that day is not counted as annual leave. Where an award or agreement sets a public holiday penalty rate and an employee works part of the day, the worked hours are paid at the penalty rate and the remaining ordinary hours at the base rate. Always check the applicable award or agreement for the exact rate.

Example¶

A public holiday falls on a Monday. Priya normally works Mondays, so she has the right to be away and is paid her base rate for the ordinary hours she would have worked that day. Her colleague, who never works Mondays, is not paid for the public holiday because it is not a day they would normally work. The employer asks Priya to come in because the business is busy. The request is reasonable and Priya agrees. Any extra pay for the hours she works comes from the award or agreement that covers her role, not from a fixed national figure.

Common mistakes¶

Thinking every employee gets paid for every public holiday — only those who would normally work that day are paid for it.
Paying extra for the day when the employee did not actually work and did not normally work that day.
Assuming there is one national penalty rate for working a public holiday — extra pay comes from the award or agreement.
Assuming an employee must always work a public holiday, or can always refuse — both the request and the refusal must be reasonable.

How this works in myaccountant¶

In the app — when you build a pay run that includes a public holiday, you can record the public holiday pay for employees who would normally work that day, and record any hours actually worked separately. The amounts appear on the employee's payslip, so they can see how their public holiday pay was made up.

Key points¶

Employees have the right to be away from work on a public holiday.
If they would normally work that day, they are paid their base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked.
An employee who does not normally work that day is not paid for the public holiday.
An employer can ask an employee to work, but only if the request is reasonable.
The employee can refuse if they have reasonable grounds.
Extra pay for working a public holiday comes from the award or agreement, not a single national rate.

Learn next¶

General information only — not tax, super or financial advice.

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