Q. What does an employer pay a night shift worker or an employee working overtime when the clock is put forward for daylight saving? 

A. Industrial tribunals have determined employees should be paid by the clock. In this case, when the clock is put forward one hour an employee actually works seven hours but is paid for eight hours.

Conversely, when the clock is put back one hour (that is, the end of daylight savings), an employee works nine hours but is only paid for eight hours. However, a common practice among employers is to have a policy of not disadvantaging an employee by the time change. 

Such a policy may provide that an employee receives nine hours of pay, or receives one hour’s credit, or, if the hours are overtime, nine hours' overtime at the appropriate penalty rate. 

In the absence of a specific provision in the applicable modern award, enterprise agreement, or company policy, the employer is only legally required to pay an employee eight hours pay for nine hours worked. 
 

12-hour shifts – WHS consideration 

An employer who operates a continuous 12-hour shift operation should also consider fatigue management for those shift workers who would effectively work a 13-hour shift with the ending of daylight saving.  
 

Overseas countries 

Other countries that have extensive trade with Australia and that also observe daylight saving are New Zealand, Great Britain, USA (almost all states), Canada, the European Union, and some other European countries. Of those, New Zealand operates daylight saving for similar dates to Australia (but not necessarily identical). The others are all in the northern hemisphere, and they operate daylight saving between the months of March and October/November (exact dates vary between countries).   
Major trading countries in Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan, do not observe daylight saving. 

Daylight saving does not apply in Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory, Christmas Island, or Cocos Islands.