Upcoming public holidays for the rest of 2022

The Prime Minister has declared that Thursday the 22^nd of September will be a public holiday for a National Day of Mourning for Her Majesty the Queen.

There are several other public holidays coming up in each state in territory which can be found by clicking the relevant links below.

Australian Capital Territory: ACT Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate
New South Wales: NSW Government
Northern Territory: NT Government
Queensland: Queensland Government
Victoria: Business Victoria
Western Australia: WA Government
South Australia: SafeWork SA
Tasmania: WorkSafe Tasmania

Below are some FAQ regarding public holidays and employee entitlements:

When are employees entitled to be absent from work on a public holiday?

Under the Fair Work Act (2009) an employee has the entitlement to be absent from work on a public holiday if the public holiday falls on the usual day of work. For example a full time employee works Monday – Friday, if the public holiday falls on a Monday, then the employee would be entitled to be absent from work on the Monday and still receive their minimum pay rate for the ordinary hours they would usually work on that day.

For part time employees, the employee is only entitled to the public holiday that falls on their usual day of work. For example a part time employee works Monday – Wednesday. If the public holiday falls on a Thursday, they are not entitled to that public holiday.

For employees who don’t have set working days (e.g. they work on a rotating roster that varies from week to week), an employee is entitled to the public holiday if they are rostered to work on the date that is the public holiday. You should also refer to the applicable modern award that applies to the role the employee is performing to determine if any other arrangements apply. Some modern awards contain provisions regarding employees who work on a roster that varies from week-week.

Can an employer request an employee work on a public holiday?

The Fair Work Act (2009) states that an employer may request an employee to work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable. In determining whether a request is reasonable, the following must be considered:

(a) the nature of the employer‘s workplace or enterprise (including its operational requirements), and the nature of the work performed by the employee;

(b) the employee‘s personal circumstances, including family responsibilities;

(d) whether the employee is entitled to receive overtime payments, penalty rates or other compensation for, or a level of remuneration that reflects an expectation of, work on the public holiday;

(e) the type of employment of the employee (for example, whether full-time, part-time, casual or shiftwork);

(f) the amount of notice in advance of the public holiday given by the employer when making the request;

(g) in relation to the refusal of a request–the amount of notice in advance of the public holiday given by the employee when refusing the request;

(h) any other relevant matter.

An employee may refuse to work on a public holiday if the request is not reasonable.

What is an employee paid if they work on a public holiday?

Public holiday rates vary from industry-industry and are stipulated in the applicable modern award that applies to the role the employee is performing.

You should refer to the public holiday clause in the applicable modern award which will specify any public holiday penalty rates, as well as any other arrangements regarding public holidays.

All current modern awards can be accessed here.

If the employee is award free (i.e. the position is not covered by a modern award) and they work on a public holiday, it is common for that employee to receive an additional day in lieu to be taken at a later date (upon agreement with the employer).

If you need help determining the public holiday penalty rates and requirements for your workplace, please reach out to us via enquiries@liquidhr.com.au or calling 1300 887 458.

Wage increase for some awards commencing 1 October 2022

Earlier in the year the Fair Work Commission (FWC) handed down a wage increase to the minimum wages in modern awards. For most modern awards, this increase came into operation on 1 July 2022.

However, for a group of modern awards (namely industries that had been determined to be hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic) the FWC delayed the increase until 1 October 2022.

Therefore, effective the first full pay period on or after 1 October 2022 the minimum wage will increase in the following awards:

Aviation

Air Pilots Award [MA000046]
Aircraft Cabin Crew Award [MA000047]
Airline Operations – Ground Staff Award [MA000048]
Airport Employees Award [MA000049]
Airservices Australia Enterprise Award 2016

Hospitality

Hospitality Industry (General) Award [MA000009]
Registered and Licensed Clubs Award [MA000058
Restaurant Industry Award [MA000119]

Tourism

Alpine Resorts Award [MA000092]
Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award [MA000093]

The new pay guides have not yet been published by the Fair Work Commission with the updated rates. Once published, they will be available here.

Family and Domestic Violence – paid leave imminent

Currently under the National Employment Standards an employee is entitled to 5 days of unpaid family and domestic violence leave in a 12-month period. This 5 days is credited to the employee at the start of each 12 month period (however it does not accumulate from year-year) and is available to full time, part time and casual employees.

Under the current provisions an employee can access this leave if:

The employee is experience family and domestic violence; and
The employee needs to do something to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence; and
It is impractical for the employee to do that thing outside the employee’s ordinary hours of work

In 2021 the Fair Work Commission undertook a review of the above provisions. As part of this review, it was recommended that paid family and domestic violence leave be implemented.

In response to this, the Australian Government has introduced the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022 (Paid FDV Leave Bill) into Parliament. This bill would amend the unpaid Family and Domestic Violence leave entitlement so that employees, including casual employees would be entitled to 10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence leave at their full rate of pay.

We expect this bill will be passed in the coming month/s. To keep up to date regarding any changes you can visit https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6882

We will ensure to advise all clients once the changes have been approved and what they need to do to prepare.

Wage Subsidies for Employers

The Australian Government currently have two wage subsidies available to employers.

The following wage subsidy of up to $10,000 (GST inclusive) is available for new employees who are:

15 to 24 years of age
Indigenous Australians
50 years of age and over

Up to $6,500 (GST inclusive) is available for new employees who are:

25 to 29 years of age
parents
registered with an employment services provider for 12 months or more

To be eligible, you must:

have an Australian business number (ABN)
hire an eligible jobseeker for an ongoing position
not be an Australian, state or territory government Agency
not have previously received a wage subsidy for the same person
offer a job that is expected to be ongoing and for an average of 20 hours per week over the 6 months of the wage subsidy agreement
offer a job that complies with employment standards for the position – for example, is suitable work and pays as a minimum the national award wage

Further information is available here.

What is your recruitment strategy?

In today’s competitive job market employers are finding it increasingly challenging to source suitable candidates to meet their employment needs. It’s a crucial time to think about your recruitment plan and what strategies you can be taking to be a step ahead of the rest. Here are some options that support attracting candidates:

Proactively search for candidates

Creating talent pools from previously advertised vacancies is a great way to reach out to candidates who have already shown an interest in working for your organisation. Searching for and reaching out to candidates through online platforms and industry networks is another great option to target passive candidates.

Employee referral programs

By promoting positions internally to staff and asking your employees to recommend friends and family is a great way to generate more interest in your vacancies. Engaged employees will promote your organisation and share personal experiences which is great insight for a potential candidate looking for work

Have transparency and clear communication

When recruiting for a position, ensure all the details are provided to the candidate throughout the recruitment process from advertising to offer stage. This includes information about the organisation, culture, values, role responsibilities and expectations, reporting structure, salary package, employee benefits and work hours. It’s important to provide accurate information through regular communication during the recruitment process. This will help the candidate to make an informed decision when accepting the role and to reduce the chances of losing a candidate mid process

Understand the current market

Before advertising for a vacancy, it’s important to understand the current market and if the job and salary on offer is appealing and competitive. There is lots of free information available online that you can research similar job roles and salary ranges to assess whether your position is competitive and going to attract candidates.

Attractive employee benefits

There are many employee benefits you could consider that will help attract candidates to your vacancy these can include flexible work arrangements, additional leave benefits, bonus incentives, employee discounts and salary sacrificing options.

Promote career development and learning opportunities

Employees looking for that next career opportunity will be interested to know what your organisation offers. Promoting career development and learning opportunities throughout the recruitment process could be a deciding factor for a candidate to accept your offer over a competitors.

Ask an Expert

We have an employee who performs a role not covered by a modern award (i.e. award free), he has resigned only providing 2 weeks’ notice, can you confirm his notice requirements?

Under the Fair Work Act (2009) there is no requirement for an award free employee to provide notice of termination. In this instance, you should refer to the employees’ contract of employment which should stipulate the agreed notice period.

In the event the notice period in the contract of employment is longer than the notice the employee has provided, we recommend you speak to the employee to come to an agreement regarding the required notice. Should the employee continue to refuse to provide the required notice in his contract of employment, you cannot withhold any money from his final pay or entitlements. You should then seek legal advice to determine if you want to proceed with a breach of contract claim.

For more information on the above, please contact us on 1300 887 458 and speak with one of our HR Consultants. If you are interested in learning more about our HR services, including HR Outsourcing, HR Consulting, HR Advisory Services, contact us at enquiries@liquidhr.com.au.