Easter is fast approaching and employers need to be clear about how to pay employees who work over the Easter break, when they can request an employee to work over the period, and when an employee can refuse the request.
Easter public holidays in 2025
In Queensland all the days during the Easter period are public holidays:
- Good Friday – Friday 3 April
- Easter Saturday – Saturday 4 April
- Easter Sunday – Sunday 5 April
- Easter Monday – Monday 6 April
How to pay for public holiday work
A modern award or enterprise agreement that applies to an employee will determine any penalty rates to be paid to an employee who works on a public holiday.
If no enterprise agreement or modern award applies to the employee, then their employment contract may provide for penalty rates.
Where an employee refuses to work on a public holiday
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, an employee is entitled to be absent from work on a public holiday.
An employer can request an employee to work but the request must be reasonable. An employee can refuse a request on reasonable grounds.
The following factors are considered in determining if an employer’s request to work or an employee’s refusal are reasonable:
- the nature of the employer’s business including its operational requirements,
- the nature of the work performed by the employee,
- the employee’s personal circumstances, including their caring responsibilities,
- whether the employee could reasonably expect that the employer might request work on the public holiday,
- whether the employee is entitled to be paid overtime payments, penalty rates or other compensation that reflects an expectation to work on the public holiday,
- the type of employment (e.g. whether full-time, part-time, casual or shift work),
- how much notice was given by the employer in advance of the public holiday when making the request,
- how much notice was given by the employee when refusing the request.
Pay when absent on a public holiday
An employee who normally works on the day a public holiday falls and is absent from work on that day, must be paid their base rate of pay for their ordinary hours of work.
The employee’s ‘base rate of pay’ does not include amounts for incentive-based payments, bonuses, loadings, monetary allowances, overtime or penalty rates.
An employee who is not rostered on for the public holiday does not have to be paid, though an employer should not change the roster to deliberately avoid the payment.
Part-time Employees
To avoid disputes with part-time employees about public holidays, employers should have written agreements with their employees about the number of hours to be worked on each day, the days of the week on which the employee will work, and the times at which the employee will start and finish work each day.
At WorkLegal our experienced team can answer your questions and put you on the right track. A range of fixed-price Initial Consultations will suit most people’s needs in quickly learning what their options are.