Upcoming Public Holiday – Managing Your Employees’ Entitlements

Members are reminded of the upcoming public holiday on 2 October 2023, Labour Day. The long weekend is a great time to reset and charge the batteries.  It is also a good time to ensure that your business is managing the public holiday correctly and that employees are paid their due entitlements.

Employees have a right to be absent from work on a public holiday and be paid their base hourly rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked if they had not been away, because of the public holiday. This only applies to those employees, excluding casuals, who would have normally worked on the day the public holiday falls.

While there should not be any significant differences, if your business is covered by an enterprise agreement, please check the relevant clauses to check the application of any additional entitlements and rules.

Where your employee is required to work on a public holiday, please check the applicable Award or your enterprise agreement for the penalty rates you are required to pay. These instruments can also provide guidance on what needs to be considered when requesting an employee to work on a public holiday.