 | Christmas and Boxing Day this year fall on a Saturday and Sunday. I understand that in this case, Monday and Tuesday become the public holiday. In my business,
the staff will work on all four of these days. Do I have to pay them time and a half for the Saturday and Sunday, or the Monday and Tuesday, or both? |
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First, determine which of the days would be a normal working day for the employee if it were not Christmas. Once determined, the following applies
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If the same staff member usually works all four days, Saturday and Sunday are the public holiday. For working those two days you pay time and a half, plus allow the two days in lieu. For them, Monday and Tuesday are not public holidays.
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If a staff member works just the Saturday and Sunday, just the Sunday and Monday, or just the Monday and Tuesday, then in all three cases, both days are public holidays. Pay time and a half and allow a day in lieu for each day worked.
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If a staff member usually works three of the days, one day is at usual pay, and the other two are at time and a half plus a day in lieu.
- If an employee would only usually work one of the days between Saturday and Tuesday,
then irrespective of which day it is, it is to be treated as a public holiday.
This is covered by Section 45 which has changed the handling of the four public holidays at Christmas and New
Year.
Section 45
Transfer of public holidays over Christmas and New Year
(1) For the purposes of this subpart, if any of the public holidays listed in section 44(1)(a) to (d) (christmas and new year)
(a) falls on a Saturday and the day would otherwise be a working day for the employee, the public holiday must be treated as falling on that day:
(b) falls on a Saturday and the day would not otherwise be a working day
for the employee, the public holiday must be treated as falling on the following Monday:
(c) falls on a Sunday and the day would otherwise be a working day for the employee, the public holiday must be treated as falling on that day:
(d) falls on a Sunday and the day would not otherwise be a working day for the employee, the public holiday must be treated as falling on the following Tuesday.
(2) To avoid doubt, this section does not entitle an employee to more than 4 public holidays for the days listed in section 44(1)(a) to (d) (christmas and new year).
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What this section effectively says is
- If the Christmas or New Year holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday, and the employee normally works on a Saturday or Sunday, then the Saturday or Sunday are public holidays.
- If an employee does not usually work on the Saturday or Sunday, then the public holidays are the following Monday or Tuesday.
The old Section 9 of the Holidays Act 1981, which the new
Section 45 has replaced, effectively meant that in the circumstances you describe, the Saturday and Sunday would never be public holidays, and the Monday and Tuesday always were.
Whilst this was fine in the old 40 hour five days a week business environment, it had some unusual side effects in today's 24/7 society. If an employee usually worked Saturday and Sunday, and never worked Monday and Tuesday, under the old
Act, the employee would have to work Christmas and Boxing day, receive no additional pay, and not be entitled to the Monday and Tuesday as public holidays.
It is this scenario that the new
Section 45 has endeavoured to correct. | |
52 week history not required
Holiday pay entitlements
Holidays Act 2003