Public holidays can be great for revenue (think hospitality, retail, tourism and essential services). But they can also be a compliance headache if you’re juggling staffing shortages, penalty rates, last-minute roster changes and employee expectations.
If you’re wondering whether employees can work on public holidays (and whether you can roster them on), the answer is generally yes - but only if you handle it the right way. In Australia, public holidays are protected by workplace laws, modern awards and enterprise agreements, and the rules can vary depending on the type of employee and the industry you operate in.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through what you need to know as an employer: when you can roster staff, when employees can refuse, how public holiday pay often works, and practical steps you can take to reduce disputes and payroll errors.
Can You Ask Employees To Work On A Public Holiday?
In many small businesses, the real question isn’t whether someone can work on a public holiday - it’s whether you can lawfully require them to.
As a general rule, public holidays are part of the National Employment Standards (NES) under the Fair Work Act. Full-time and part-time employees are generally entitled to be absent on a public holiday if they would ordinarily work on that day.
However, employers can still ask employees to work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable.
What Makes A Request “Reasonable”?
Whether your request is reasonable depends on the circumstances. Common factors include:
- Your business needs: for example, you run a venue that is busiest on public holidays, or you provide essential services.
- The employee’s circumstances: family responsibilities, caring duties, religious observance or other personal commitments.
- Notice provided: last-minute requests are harder to justify.
- The employee’s role and usual pattern: if the employee typically works Mondays and the public holiday falls on a Monday, a request may be more reasonable than for someone who never works that day.
- Any extra pay/benefits: public holiday penalty rates, time off in lieu (TOIL) if allowed, or other incentives may be relevant.
- What the award or enterprise agreement says: these instruments can set specific rostering rules and pay outcomes.
A practical way to reduce risk is to set expectations early. If your business regularly trades on public holidays, it’s often best to build this into your onboarding and documentation (for example, your Employment Contract and roster policies) rather than relying on ad hoc conversations each time a public holiday comes around.
Can An Employee Refuse To Work On A Public Holiday?
Yes. Employees can refuse a request to work on a public holiday if:
- your request is not reasonable, or
- their refusal is reasonable.
This means you should avoid treating public holiday refusals as “automatic misconduct”. If you discipline someone for refusing when their refusal is reasonable, you can be exposed to unfair dismissal or general protections risk - especially if the refusal is connected to protected reasons (for example, family responsibilities).
Which Pay Rates Apply If Someone Works On A Public Holiday?
Public holiday pay is one of the most common areas where small businesses accidentally underpay staff - usually because the correct rate depends on the right instrument (modern award, enterprise agreement, or an individual contract above the award) and the employee’s classification (full-time/part-time/casual).
There isn’t one universal public holiday rate that applies to every business in Australia.
Start With The “Rule Source”: Award, Enterprise Agreement Or Contract
To work out what to pay, you’ll usually need to check the applicable:
- Modern award (common for hospitality, retail, hair and beauty, admin, trades, etc.)
- Enterprise agreement (if your business has one in place)
- Employment contract (but remember: a contract can’t provide less than minimum legal entitlements)
If you want a quick starting point for calculations, it can also help to run scenarios using a public holiday pay calculator approach - but you should still confirm the applicable award/agreement and your employee’s classification to avoid payroll errors.
Common Public Holiday Pay Outcomes (General Guide)
While you must check the relevant instrument (and some awards/agreements include specific rules for particular roles, such as shiftworkers), these are common patterns:
- Full-time and part-time employees who do not work: often paid their base rate for their ordinary hours (if they would normally have worked that day), but this can vary where an award/agreement has different public holiday provisions for certain employees.
- Full-time and part-time employees who do work: often paid a higher penalty rate (e.g. 200%/250%) or receive an alternative benefit depending on the award/agreement.
- Casual employees who work: often receive a higher casual public holiday penalty rate (this may be their casual loading plus the public holiday penalty, but it depends on the instrument and the exact wording of the award/agreement).
- Casual employees who do not work: generally are not paid if they don’t work (unless a contract, enterprise agreement or established arrangement says otherwise).
Also keep in mind that public holiday arrangements can interact with other entitlements - for example, overtime rules, minimum engagement periods, shiftwork arrangements, or weekend penalties if the public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday (which is why it’s helpful to understand weekend pay rates as well).
Can You Offer Time Off In Lieu Instead Of Penalty Rates?
Sometimes, but not always - and not automatically.
Some awards and agreements allow an employee to take time off in lieu (TOIL) or to substitute another day for the public holiday, but there are usually conditions. For example, it may require the employee’s agreement (often in writing), specific record-keeping, and rules about how (and when) the time off is taken. In some cases, an award/enterprise agreement may set the minimum payment outcome even where TOIL or substitution is used.
If you want to use time off in lieu arrangements, get the wording right and keep a clear paper trail. This is an area where a tailored Workplace Policy can save you a lot of back-and-forth later.
Rostering And Notice: How To Manage Public Holidays Without Disputes
In practice, most public holiday issues arise because of communication and timing rather than legal theory.
Here are practical rostering steps that can reduce employee complaints and help you stay compliant.
1) Check The Applicable Award Rules Before You Publish The Roster
Different awards can have different rules about:
- rostering processes
- how much notice you must give
- minimum shift lengths
- when overtime applies vs ordinary hours
- public holiday substitution arrangements
If your rostering is ad hoc or handled by multiple managers, consider standardising it against the legal requirements for employee rostering so you’re not reinventing the wheel every holiday period.
2) Give Clear Notice And Keep It Consistent
Public holidays are predictable (even if your staffing needs aren’t). Where possible:
- publish public holiday rosters earlier than usual
- confirm who is working in writing (even a roster system message can help)
- avoid last-minute changes unless genuinely necessary
This also gives you time to manage refusals appropriately - for example, by offering alternative shifts, seeking volunteers first, or adjusting trading hours.
3) Be Careful With Shift Lengths, Breaks And Fatigue
Public holidays can mean longer trading hours and heavier foot traffic, but fatigue risk is real - and it can quickly become a workplace health and safety issue.
Check the award rules for breaks and ensure managers are actually enforcing them in practice. Having a consistent approach to Fair Work breaks can reduce incidents and disputes (especially when employees feel pressured to “push through” during peak periods).
4) Document Agreements (Especially If You’re Substituting Another Day)
If you agree to substitute another day for the public holiday or offer a special arrangement, confirm:
- the public holiday involved (and date)
- what the employee will be paid for hours worked
- what day is substituted (if relevant)
- any TOIL arrangement and when it can be taken
This is one of those areas where a short written confirmation can prevent a long argument later.
What If Your Business Usually Closes On Public Holidays?
Some small businesses choose to close on public holidays to avoid penalty rates and staffing problems. That can be a valid business decision - but you should still think through the employment implications.
Full-Time And Part-Time Employees: Are They Paid If You Close?
If you close on a public holiday that falls on an employee’s ordinary working day, they may still be entitled to be paid their base rate for ordinary hours (subject to the applicable award/agreement and their ordinary roster pattern).
This is why it’s important to define ordinary hours clearly, particularly for part-time staff with regular schedules.
Casual Employees: Are They Paid If You Close?
Casual employees are usually paid only for hours worked. If you close and you don’t roster a casual, they generally won’t be paid for that day (unless a contract, enterprise agreement or established arrangement says otherwise).
If you’re heavily reliant on casuals, it’s still worth communicating early. Surprise closures can lead to resentment, higher turnover and last-minute “no shows” when you do need coverage.
Annual Leave And Public Holidays: Watch The Interaction
Public holidays can also impact leave planning and payroll. For example, where an employee is on annual leave and a public holiday falls during that leave period, the public holiday is generally not counted as annual leave (meaning it should not reduce their annual leave balance). This can affect your payroll processing and leave approvals.
If this comes up regularly in your business, it may help to review your approach to annual leave payments and ensure your payroll settings match your legal obligations.
Practical Tips To Stay Compliant (And Keep Your Team Onside)
Even if you understand the legal rules, the day-to-day reality is that public holidays can put pressure on your team and your managers. Here are practical ways to reduce legal risk and keep operations running smoothly.
Build A “Public Holiday Plan” Into Your Annual Calendar
At the start of each year (or quarter), map out:
- all national and state/territory public holidays relevant to your trading locations
- your expected busy periods
- your staffing strategy (volunteers first, rotating rosters, minimum coverage)
- your payroll checks (penalty rates, overtime triggers, allowances)
Doing this early makes it easier to show your request was reasonable - because you’ve planned properly rather than scrambling at the last minute.
Make Sure Your Contracts And Policies Match How You Actually Operate
If your business regularly trades on public holidays, it’s worth ensuring your documentation reflects that reality.
- Your employment agreements should be consistent with rostering expectations, classification, and any flexibility provisions that apply.
- Your policies should cover rostering processes, shift swaps, refusal handling, and payroll escalation (so managers know what to do when there’s disagreement).
This is particularly important as you grow - the “it’s just how we’ve always done it” approach often breaks down when you add new managers, new venues, or a larger team.
Train Managers On What They Can (And Can’t) Say
Many issues arise when a supervisor tells an employee they “have to” work a public holiday, without considering the reasonableness test or checking the award.
Manager training should cover:
- how to make a reasonable request
- how to respond to refusals professionally
- when to escalate to payroll/HR
- the importance of recording agreements in writing
Keep Accurate Records
In a dispute or audit, clear records matter. Aim to keep:
- rosters and roster changes
- timesheets and approvals
- written agreements about substitution/TOIL
- payroll calculations and classification details
This doesn’t just protect you legally - it also reduces the back-and-forth when employees query their payslip after a public holiday shift.
When In Doubt, Get Advice Before The Holiday Rush
If you’re unsure whether you can roster someone, whether a refusal is reasonable, or what rate applies (including any shiftworker-specific or award-specific public holiday rules), it’s usually easier (and cheaper) to confirm the position early than to fix an underpayment or resolve a dispute later.
Key Takeaways
- You generally can ask staff to work on public holidays, but the request needs to be reasonable and employees can refuse if their refusal is reasonable.
- Public holiday pay depends on the relevant modern award, enterprise agreement or employment contract - there is no single universal rate for every business.
- Full-time and part-time employees may still be entitled to be paid for a public holiday if it falls on a day they would ordinarily work, even if you close (noting some awards/agreements contain different rules for certain employees such as shiftworkers).
- Casual employees are typically paid only for hours worked, but public holiday penalty rates often apply when they do work.
- Clear rostering, early notice, documented agreements (including any TOIL/substitution arrangements required by an award or enterprise agreement) and accurate payroll records are the best ways to avoid disputes.
- Having the right employment documents and policies in place makes it easier to manage public holiday work consistently as your business grows.
If you’d like help setting up your employment contracts, rostering processes or workplace policies around public holiday trading, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.
