Q. The majority of our employees are covered  under the General Retail Industry Award 2020 and have retail operations in each state. They are usually rostered to work weekends as part of their 38-hour week. Our question relates to work the appropriate penalty rate for any work performed on Easter Saturday or Easter Sunday. We are not sure whether Easter Saturday or Easter Sunday is a public holiday as the Fair Work Act does not list either day as a public holiday. Would staff be entitled to payment at the public holiday penalty rate prescribed by the Award or would the relevant Saturday or Sunday work penalty apply? 

 

A. The observance of a public holiday is determined by the relevant state or territory public holiday legislation in conjunction with the Fair Work Act. Easter Saturday is a declared public holiday in all states and territories, except Tasmania and Western Australia. Easter Sunday has been declared a public holiday in a number of states and the ACT. 

In this case, work performed on Easter Saturday under this Award is paid at the appropriate public holiday penalty rate for those employees employed in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Northern Territory and the ACT. For those employees employed in Tasmania or Western Australia, work performed on Easter Saturday would attract the appropriate Saturday work penalty rate under the Retail Industry Award. 

Clause 33.3 of the Award states that employees who work on a public holiday must be paid at the penalty rates set out in Table 12 (located in clause 22.1(b)). Per this Table, full- and part-time employees should be paid at 225% of their ordinary rate, and casual employees should be paid at 250% of their ordinary rate for all ordinary hours worked on a public holiday. 

Clause 22.2 of the Award also allows, by agreement, the taking of the holiday on another day or an additional day or equivalent time as annual leave. 

 

Easter Sunday 

It should be noted that New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory have declared Easter Sunday as a public holiday. This means that any work performed on Easter Sunday in these jurisdictions will attract the appropriate public holiday penalty rate prescribed by the applicable modern award or enterprise agreement rather than the relevant Sunday penalty rate. 

Any work performed by an employee employed in the other states and territory will be paid at the appropriate Sunday penalty rate prescribed by the applicable modern award or enterprise agreement.  

 

Bottom line 

The Fair Work Act recognises any day declared as a public holiday by a state or territory government for the state, territory, or a region of that state or territory. This means work performed on that holiday will be paid at the appropriate public holiday rates.