The holiday season approaches, and with it comes several public holidays (each one right after the other). It can be a busy time of the year for many. Scheduling can become a problem with many employees potentially planning to take time off around the holiday period. And with holidays comes potentially different holiday pay amounts.
As a business owner, it is your responsibility to ensure that you do the right thing for your employees when it comes to holidays and pays.
Some establishments may remain open during holidays for trading (such as retail or hospitality). In that event, employers may ask staff to conduct business operations as usual.
Requesting Staff To Work
If your business is open during a public holiday, you may ask your staff to work if required. However, an employee can refuse the request if it is considered unreasonable.
According to Fair Work Australia, a reasonable request to work should consider:
- The nature and needs of the workplace
- The personal circumstances of the employee
- Whether the employee will receive more pay for the work (i.e. double time)
- The type of work involved
- Whether their salary includes work on a public holiday
- Their employment status (full-time, part-time, casual)
- How much notice you give with regards to working on a public holiday
- The notice an employee gives when refusing to work on a public holiday
Pay For Public Holiday Hours
Most employees are entitled to penalty rates for working on a public holiday. The award or enterprise agreement the employee is under determines the rate.
Some awards and agreements allow staff and employers to agree to substitute the public holiday for a different day, get time off in lieu, or have a day added to their annual leave balance.
When a public holiday falls on a day or part-day that an employee would usually work, you must pay the employee their base rate of pay for their ordinary hours of work. Standard requirements and applicable penalty rates are in effect.
Public holidays that fall on an employee’s paid leave do not get treated as annual leave. The day is still a public holiday, and the employee must receive at least their base rate of pay for the day.
Maintaining compliance with holiday pay requirements for your workers is one of your responsibilities as their employer. You do not have the automatic right to terminate your employees if they refuse to work on a public holiday, though, and you must remember this in your interactions with your staff.
Taking Leave Over The Closedown
You may instruct your employees to take annual leave for the remaining days during the shutdown period but cannot compel your employees to take it. However, an employee cannot unreasonably refuse your request to take annual leave if they have accumulated it over a long period.
Employees who have not accrued enough leave to cover the holiday period can arrange to take leave in advance or unpaid with their employers. An employer cannot force workers who do not agree to this arrangement to take unpaid leave unless the industry award allows them to. If not, employers will have to pay workers at a normal rate for the shutdown period.
Want to be sure that you are maintaining your obligations as an employer regarding your staff’s pay arrangements? Review your employee’s employment contract and understand both their’s and your obligations well in advance of the holiday season.
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