Public holidays
Employees are entitled to 11 public holidays off work on pay, if they are days when the employee would normally work. Employers must pay employees their relevant daily pay or average daily pay (if applicable) for the public holiday.
If an employee works on a public holiday they must be paid at least time-and-a-half for the time worked. If the public holiday falls on a day they would normally work, the employee is also entitled to an alternative paid holiday.
Employers and employees can agree to transfer the observance of a public holiday to another working day, to meet the needs of the business or individual employees. However, the number of public holidays the employee is entitled to can’t be reduced. The day the public holiday is transferred to is treated as a public holiday for pay and leave purposes.
The Department’s website has a list of public holidays and the Holidays and Leave Tool makes it easy to work out pay and leave entitlements.
