Public Holiday Pay Rates in QLD

Public holidays are great for customers and staff, but they can be stressful if you’re not sure what to pay and how to roster your team legally.

If you run a business in Queensland, you’ll need a clear handle on public holiday pay rates, whether you can ask staff to work, and how to manage time off in lieu and substitute days.

In this guide, we’ll break down how public holiday rates work in QLD from an employer’s perspective, what “double pay” actually means in practice, and how to stay compliant under the national workplace laws that apply to Queensland businesses.

What Counts As A Public Holiday In Queensland?

Public holidays in Queensland are set by state legislation and include national days (like New Year’s Day and Australia Day), state days (like Labour Day in May), and region-specific “show” holidays (for example, the Brisbane Ekka Show Day).

There can also be substitute or additional public holidays when a holiday falls on a weekend. Always check the official Queensland Government gazette when you plan rosters for the year, and remember that show holidays differ by local government area.

The National Employment Standards (NES) under the Fair Work Act give eligible employees the right to be absent from work on a public holiday and to be paid their base rate for ordinary hours they would have worked.

Do You Have To Pay Double On Public Holidays?

This is one of the most common questions we hear: “Is it double pay on public holidays?” The short answer is: not necessarily.

Public holiday rates are set by the employee’s applicable modern award or enterprise agreement. Many awards prescribe double time and a half (250%) for hours worked on a public holiday, while some use different multipliers or allow for alternatives like a day off in lieu by agreement. It’s award-by-award, not a single fixed rule across QLD.

So while people often refer to “double pay,” the correct rate could be 225%, 250%, or another amount entirely depending on the classification and award wording, and whether the employee is full-time, part-time or casual.

If you’re unsure of the correct multiplier, it’s a good idea to cross-check the employee’s award classification and use the Fair Work pay tools. Many employers also review their penalty rates settings in payroll before the holiday period and run a quick test payroll to catch issues early.

What Should You Pay? Awards, Salaries And Different Employee Types

The starting point is always the applicable instrument: the modern award, enterprise agreement or contract terms. Here’s how it typically plays out for different employment types.

Full-Time And Part-Time Employees

• If they do not work a public holiday they would ordinarily work: pay their base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked (no loadings or penalties apply to this “not worked” entitlement).
• If they work on a public holiday: pay the public holiday penalty rate set by the award or agreement. Many awards also include a minimum engagement period on public holidays.
• Substitution and TOIL: Some awards allow you to agree to substitute the public holiday for another day, or to agree to time off in lieu (TOIL) instead of a penalty rate, but only if the award permits it and you follow the process (usually written agreement and correct accrual/record-keeping).

Make sure your Employment Contract aligns with the award on substitution and TOIL. A contract can’t undercut award entitlements, but it can clarify processes so everyone understands how requests are handled.

Casual Employees

• If a casual does not work on a public holiday: there’s usually no payment, as casuals don’t have paid entitlements for days they don’t work.
• If a casual works on a public holiday: the award penalty rate applies, and this is usually on top of the casual loading (check your award carefully-some awards build the loading into the public holiday rate, others stack it).

Confirm your casual terms in a tailored Casual Employment Contract, especially around minimum engagements and rostering expectations on public holidays.

Shiftworkers

Shiftworkers often have different definitions for “ordinary hours” and penalties. Many awards set specific public holiday penalty rates for shiftworkers (and sometimes an extra week of annual leave). Always check the award’s shiftwork clauses and definitions of permanent night shift or continuous operations.

Salaried And Annualised Salary Employees

If you pay an annual salary to cover award entitlements, you must ensure the salary is sufficient to compensate for all hours worked and relevant penalties, including public holidays. This is often tested through regular reconciliations under annualised wage provisions.

Put simply, a salary doesn’t “turn off” public holiday penalties. If the employee is award-covered and performs work on public holidays, you need to be sure the total remuneration still leaves them better off overall compared to the award.

Can You Ask Staff To Work On A Public Holiday?

Under the Fair Work Act, you can request that an employee work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable, and an employee can refuse if the refusal is reasonable. Reasonableness factors include things like the nature of your business, the employee’s personal circumstances, their role and remuneration, and whether they reasonably expected to work.

In practice, you can reduce disputes by planning early, communicating roster needs in advance, and using fair, consistent criteria for who is asked to work and when. A clear Workplace Policy can set expectations about public holiday rostering and request processes.

Remember, even where an employee agrees to work, you must still pay the correct public holiday penalty rate unless the award allows a valid substitute arrangement or TOIL option and you’ve documented it correctly.

Managing Rosters, TOIL And Substituted Days

Public holidays are smoother when you have a plan for rostering and alternatives. Three tools are commonly used by Queensland employers.

1) Smart Rostering

Start by mapping the QLD public holidays and your region’s show holiday across the year. Publish draft rosters early, ask for expressions of interest, and rotate opportunities fairly. This improves buy-in and reduces last-minute refusals.

If your industry has strict roster notification rules, make sure your approach aligns with the award. It’s worth reviewing your obligations around employee rostering before the peak holiday season.

2) Time Off In Lieu (TOIL)

Many awards allow employees and employers to agree that TOIL can be taken instead of being paid the monetary penalty. There are usually rules about how TOIL is accrued (often at the penalty equivalent), how long it can be banked, and what happens if it isn’t taken within a set timeframe.

Make sure any TOIL agreement is in writing and you track the balance accurately. For reference on best practice, employers often review how time in lieu should be used and documented under the relevant award.

3) Substitute Days

Some awards let you substitute a public holiday for another day by agreement. This can work well where your business’s busiest trade doesn’t align with the calendar holiday. The substitution must be recorded and managed carefully so the substitute day is treated as the public holiday for pay and leave purposes.

Practical Steps To Stay Compliant In QLD

Here’s a simple compliance checklist you can use leading into each public holiday period.

• Confirm the holiday dates: Include local show holidays and any substitute/extra holidays for your region.
• Identify coverage and classification: Check each employee’s award or enterprise agreement and classification level.
• Test your payroll settings: Ensure public holiday multipliers for each classification are correct, and run a quick calculation using the pay tool logic mirrored in your system. Many teams also review the Fair Work pay calculator methodology for penalty rates to validate their setups.
• Lock in the process in contracts: Confirm your Employment Contract (or casual variant) sets out rostering expectations and how substitution or TOIL will be agreed and recorded.
• Put policies in place: A simple policy outlining public holiday requests, reasonableness factors, and the documentation required for TOIL or substitutes will help your managers apply the rules consistently.
• Keep accurate records: Record who worked, for how long, which rate applied, and any substitute or TOIL agreements. This is essential for audit and dispute resolution.
• Review award compliance: If you operate across multiple awards (e.g. retail and hospitality), consider an internal review or external check on your award compliance to make sure each classification is being paid correctly on public holidays.

If you pay annualised salaries, schedule periodic reconciliations that include public holiday hours to verify the employee remains better off overall. This is especially important for award-covered salaried roles working irregular hours or frequent public holidays.

Common Pitfalls To Avoid

• Assuming “double pay” applies to everyone: Public holiday rates vary by award and employee type. Always check the actual instrument.
• Missing show holidays: These vary by council area. A Brisbane team and a Gold Coast team won’t necessarily have the same holiday.
• Informal TOIL arrangements: If your award requires written agreement and specific accrual rules, informal swaps can create underpayment risk.
• Not updating payroll codes: New or updated awards can change penalty rate calculations. Keep your payroll system aligned.
• Relying on salary without reconciliation: Annualised salaries must still cover award penalties-including public holidays.

QLD Examples You Might Encounter

Let’s say you run a café in Brisbane and offer staff the option to work the Ekka Show Day for public holiday rates or take a substitute day later in the month. If your award allows substitute days, you can do this by written agreement, but you must then treat the agreed substitute as the public holiday for that employee (including pay implications if they work on that substitute day).

Or, imagine your retail store opens on Labour Day. Your casuals who pick up a shift will likely be entitled to the public holiday penalty on top of their casual loading if the award provides for stacking. The exact multiplier comes from the award, so set those payroll rates in advance and communicate expected earnings clearly.

Get The Foundation Right With Documents

Good paperwork makes public holiday periods much easier. Most businesses will benefit from having up-to-date contracts and policies that reflect their award settings and how they handle rostering, TOIL and substitutions. In addition to contracts, a clear set of workplace policies (for example, around leave, rostering and conduct) helps your managers apply rules consistently and reduces misunderstandings.

If you’re growing or adding founders, it’s also worth checking your governance documents-your Company Constitution and shareholder arrangements-so decision-making about trading hours and staffing is clear. As your team grows, you may also want to formalise or refresh your broader Workplace Policy suite so that award requirements and internal processes remain aligned.

Key Takeaways

• Public holiday entitlements for Queensland businesses are set under national workplace laws, with the exact public holiday rates coming from the relevant award or enterprise agreement.
• It’s not automatically “double pay” on public holidays-many awards set double time and a half or other multipliers, and some allow TOIL or substitute days by agreement.
• Full-time and part-time employees who don’t work a public holiday they would normally work are paid their base rate for ordinary hours; casuals are paid only if they work.
• You can request employees work on a public holiday if it’s reasonable, and employees can reasonably refuse; clear contracts and a fair policy help avoid disputes.
• Plan ahead: confirm dates (including local show holidays), check award classifications, calibrate payroll rates, and document any TOIL or substitution in writing.
• Align your documents with your processes-use the right Casual Employment Contract or Employment Contract, keep your Workplace Policy current, review award compliance, and sanity-check rates using the pay calculator logic.

If you’d like a consultation on Queensland public holiday pay rates, rostering and award compliance for your business, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.