Casual Public Holiday Pay Rates: What Casual Workers Must Be Paid

Public holidays are great for customers (and staff) - but they can be a real headache for small business owners when it comes to payroll.

If you employ casual staff, you’ve probably asked yourself: what is the correct casual rate on a public holiday? Or, more bluntly: how much do casual workers get paid on public holidays?

The tricky part is there isn’t one universal “public holiday casual rate” that applies to every business. In Australia, the answer depends on the employee’s coverage (Modern Award or enterprise agreement), the kind of work they do, and what the rostered shift actually looks like.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how public holiday pay generally works for casuals, how to approach the calculation, and the common mistakes that can put your business at risk.

Why Public Holiday Pay For Casuals Gets Confusing (And Why It Matters)

Public holiday payroll issues usually come down to one simple thing: different rules apply depending on whether a casual employee works the day or doesn’t work the day.

On top of that, most Australian small businesses are juggling:

• Modern Awards (which often set public holiday penalty rates, minimum engagements, and rostering rules);
• Enterprise agreements (which can change how conditions operate compared to an Award, but must still meet the National Employment Standards and pass the Better Off Overall Test);
• employment contracts (which can add conditions, but generally can’t undercut minimum entitlements); and
• different state and territory public holidays (plus substitute days).

Getting this wrong can create more than an awkward conversation. Underpaying staff can expose you to:

• back payments (often going back years),
• Fair Work disputes and audits,
• penalties for breaches of workplace laws, and
• reputational damage (especially if staff start comparing payslips).

So while it’s tempting to “just pay time and a half” (or “just pay double time”), it’s worth checking what applies to your workplace.

Do You Have To Pay Casual Employees For A Public Holiday If They Don’t Work?

For most casual employees, the practical answer is: usually no.

Casuals generally don’t receive paid time off on a public holiday if they don’t work that day. That’s because casual employees typically don’t have the same paid leave entitlements as full-time and part-time employees, and their pay rate includes a casual loading to compensate for some of those entitlements.

When You Might Still Owe Something

Even though the “default position” is often no pay if a casual doesn’t work, you should still check whether something else changes the outcome, such as:

• An enterprise agreement that provides a minimum payment or different treatment for public holidays (noting it can’t reduce minimum entitlements under the National Employment Standards, and must pass the Better Off Overall Test).
• A specific Award clause that creates an entitlement in a particular scenario (this is less common, but Awards can have nuanced provisions).
• A contract term you’ve agreed to (for example, you might choose to pay certain casuals on public holidays as part of a retention strategy - but you’ll want this documented properly).

Also note: if your “casual” is actually behaving more like a permanent employee (regular ongoing hours, predictable pattern, expectation of continuing work), you should make sure they’re correctly classified. Misclassification can create a whole separate underpayment risk.

What About “Normally Rostered” Days?

Some business owners assume: “If they were rostered most Mondays, and the public holiday falls on a Monday, I must pay them.” For casuals, that’s not automatically true.

However, if you’re routinely rostering a casual in a way that looks permanent, it may be time to review whether they should actually be part-time. This is one of those areas where early advice can save a lot of trouble later.

How To Work Out The Casual Rate On A Public Holiday (When They Do Work)

If your casual employee works on a public holiday, you usually must pay a public holiday penalty rate based on the rules that cover their employment.

This is where the main question comes in: the casual rate on a public holiday depends on the relevant Award or enterprise agreement.

Step 1: Confirm What The Employee Is Covered By

Start by identifying whether the employee is covered by:

• a Modern Award,
• an enterprise agreement, or
• an Award/Agreement-free arrangement (less common for many small businesses).

Most small businesses have staff who are Award-covered, even if you pay above Award rates.

Step 2: Identify The Public Holiday Penalty Rate

The Award or enterprise agreement will usually specify a public holiday penalty rate (for example, time-and-a-half, double time, or another multiplier).

Importantly, you need to understand what the penalty rate is applied to. In many cases, you’ll work with the employee’s:

• base hourly rate (the “permanent” rate), and
• casual loading (commonly 25%, but check the instrument).

Some Awards structure penalties so that casual loading is included in a particular way; others set a single all-in penalty rate for casuals. The wording matters.

Step 3: Apply Minimum Engagement Rules (If Relevant)

Many Awards include “minimum engagement” periods - for example, requiring that a casual be paid for at least a minimum number of hours when they attend work.

So if you call someone in for a short shift on a public holiday, the casual public holiday pay rates outcome might be higher than you expected simply because the minimum engagement inflates the paid hours.

Step 4: Check Overtime Triggers

On some Awards, overtime can be triggered by working:

• over a set number of hours in a day,
• over a set number of hours in a week, or
• outside a span of ordinary hours.

If the shift is both a public holiday shift and overtime, the Award will usually explain whether you apply overtime, public holiday penalties, or the higher of the two (or sometimes a specific combined approach).

It can help to keep a clear internal reference point for overtime calculations, especially when weekends and public holidays cluster together (like Easter and Christmas-New Year periods). If you need a refresher on how these rates interact, overtime rates is a good place to start internally.

A Simple (But Not Universal) Example Calculation

Let’s say (purely as an example):

• The casual base rate is $30/hour (this already includes casual loading), and
• The Award says public holiday work is paid at double time.

The public holiday rate might be $60/hour for those hours worked.

But in another Award, the public holiday rate may be expressed as “250% of the base rate” (and the base rate might be the permanent rate, not the casual all-in rate). That’s why you should avoid assuming the multiplier applies to the number you normally pay casually.

If you want a practical way to sense-check, tools like a public holiday pay calculator can be a helpful starting point - but you still need to confirm the correct Award coverage and classifications in your business.

Roster Changes, Shift Cancellations, And Public Holidays: What Small Businesses Should Watch

Public holiday pay problems often aren’t about the rate - they’re about the roster.

For example:

• You roster casuals on for a public holiday, then trade drops and you cancel the shifts.
• You “move” the public holiday shift to another day without confirming whether a substitute day applies.
• You assume casuals can always be stood down at the last minute because they’re casual.

Depending on the Award, enterprise agreement, or your workplace policies, rostering changes may still trigger payment obligations (or at least create employee relations issues).

If your team regularly works to a roster, it’s worth making sure your process aligns with legal requirements for employee rostering, including notice periods, consultation requirements, and record-keeping.

Do Casuals Have To Work On A Public Holiday?

In many workplaces, a public holiday shift is managed the same way as other shifts: you offer it, the casual accepts it, and they attend.

However, under the Fair Work Act, an employee can refuse to work on a public holiday if the employer’s request is not reasonable, or the refusal is reasonable. Whether a request (or refusal) is reasonable depends on factors like the nature of the business, the employee’s personal circumstances, how much notice was given, and the employee’s role.

From a small business perspective, the best approach is to:

• offer public holiday shifts early,
• confirm acceptance in writing (even a roster system confirmation helps), and
• keep a clear policy about how public holiday work is allocated (to reduce accusations of unfairness).

Common Mistakes With Casual Rates On Public Holidays (And How To Avoid Them)

Here are the issues we most often see small businesses run into with the casual rate on a public holiday.

1) Paying The Wrong Multiplier “Because That’s What We’ve Always Done”

Public holiday penalties can differ between Awards and industries. If you’ve grown your business or changed roles, the Award coverage may have changed too.

A quick annual check of Award coverage and pay structures can prevent years of underpayments.

2) Using The Wrong “Base” For The Penalty Rate

This is a big one.

Some businesses apply the public holiday multiplier to the casual all-in hourly rate without checking whether the Award intends the multiplier to apply to the permanent base rate (and then add loading), or whether it sets a separate casual public holiday rate.

If you’re unsure, it’s usually safer to pause and confirm - because “close enough” is rarely close enough when it comes to payroll compliance.

3) Forgetting Minimum Engagements

If your casual does a two-hour shift but the Award minimum engagement is three hours, you may need to pay three hours (at the public holiday rate).

This can be particularly relevant in hospitality, retail, and event-based businesses.

4) Not Having Clear Terms In Your Employment Paperwork

Your employment documentation won’t override Award minimums, but it can prevent confusion and disputes.

For casual staff, this usually means having a properly drafted Employment Contract that clearly covers things like:

• casual nature of employment (no guaranteed hours),
• how shifts are offered and accepted,
• classification and pay reference points, and
• expectations around availability (without accidentally implying guaranteed hours).

5) Mixing Up Weekend Rates And Public Holiday Rates

Weekends and public holidays are not the same thing, and the penalty structure can differ.

If your payroll team relies on “Saturday/Sunday logic” for public holidays, it’s time to tighten the process. It can help to keep a quick reference to weekend pay rates separate from public holiday rules so you’re not applying the wrong table at the wrong time.

A Practical Compliance Checklist For Paying Casuals On Public Holidays

If you want a reliable, repeatable way to manage public holiday payroll, here’s a practical checklist you can implement in your business.

1) Confirm Coverage And Classifications

• Identify the correct Modern Award (if any).
• Confirm the employee’s classification level.
• Confirm whether you have an enterprise agreement and what it says about public holidays (including that it must meet the National Employment Standards and pass the Better Off Overall Test).

2) Build A “Public Holiday Pay” Process Before The Holiday Rush

• Decide who approves public holiday shifts.
• Make sure your roster system records acceptance of shifts.
• Lock in cancellation/change notice rules (based on the relevant instrument).

3) Check The Interaction With Overtime And Minimum Hours

• Confirm minimum engagement rules for casuals.
• Check what triggers overtime and how it interacts with public holiday penalties.

4) Keep Your Employment Documents Consistent

Your contracts and policies should match how you actually operate.

For example, if your casuals are treated as “ongoing rostered staff every week”, that can create risk. Tightening your employment paperwork and internal practices early is usually much easier than fixing issues after someone raises a complaint.

5) Document What You’ve Paid And Why

If you’re ever questioned about the casual rate on a public holiday, being able to show how you calculated it is a big help.

At minimum, keep records of:

• the roster (including acceptance and changes),
• the hours actually worked,
• the Award or agreement reference used, and
• the pay run outputs.

And if you’re building or scaling your business, it may also be worth reviewing your broader employment set-up (for example, your termination processes and final pay practices). Issues like final pay and pay compliance tend to show up together when a workplace issue escalates.

Key Takeaways

• The correct casual rate on a public holiday depends on whether the employee actually works the public holiday, and what Award or enterprise agreement applies.
• Casual employees usually don’t get paid for a public holiday they don’t work, but you should still check your specific industrial instrument and any promises made in writing.
• When a casual works on a public holiday, you’ll generally need to apply a public holiday penalty rate, plus consider minimum engagements and overtime rules.
• Common mistakes include applying the multiplier to the wrong “base rate,” forgetting minimum paid hours, and confusing weekend penalty rates with public holiday rates.
• A clear rostering process and properly drafted employment documents can help prevent disputes and underpayment risks before they arise.

This article is general information only and is not legal advice. If you’d like help getting your public holiday pay rules right (including checking Awards, pay rates, and contracts for your casual staff), you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.