WA Public Holiday Penalty Rates for Employers

Public holidays can be great for business (think: extra foot traffic, special events, and seasonal demand), but they can also be one of the easiest times to accidentally underpay staff or get rostering wrong.

If you employ anyone in Western Australia, understanding public holiday penalty rates in WA is essential. The challenge is that there isn’t one single “WA public holiday rate” that applies to everyone - what you must pay often depends on which industrial relations system you’re in (the national Fair Work system or the WA state system), whether your employee is covered by a modern award, a WA award, an enterprise agreement, or another industrial instrument, and what their employment contract says.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how public holiday penalty rates work in WA from an employer’s perspective, what you need to check, and the practical steps you can take to stay compliant and protect your business.

What Are Public Holiday Penalty Rates In WA?

“Penalty rates” are higher rates of pay that apply when an employee works at certain times (for example, weekends, late nights, or public holidays).

When people search for public holiday penalty rates in WA, they’re usually trying to answer one of these employer questions:

Do I have to pay extra if an employee works on a public holiday?
Is it double time? Time and a half? Something else?
What if the employee doesn’t work - do I still have to pay them?
What if I’m open but the employee refuses the shift?

In most cases, if an employee works on a public holiday, their applicable industrial instrument (for example, a modern award, WA award, or enterprise agreement) sets a public holiday rate or loading. Commonly, this is expressed as a multiple of the base rate (for example, 225% or 250%), but the exact number varies significantly by instrument and classification.

Public Holiday Pay Is Not Just About “Extra” Pay

As an employer, your public holiday obligations can involve:

Penalty rates when an employee works a public holiday
Paid time off for eligible employees who don’t work on the day
Substitute public holidays (for example, if a public holiday falls on a weekend)
Roster and notice rules about directing employees to work or changing shifts

This is why public holidays are a high-risk area: it’s not just a payroll question - it’s also rostering, documentation, and Fair Work compliance all at once.

WA Public Holidays: The Date Matters

WA has its own public holidays (including state-specific days) and may differ from other states. Your starting point should always be confirming:

Is it actually a public holiday in WA?
Is it a public holiday across the whole state, or only in a particular region?
Has a substitute day applied?

Once you confirm the day is a public holiday for your workplace location, the next step is to work out which legal rules apply to the employee.

Which Rules Apply: Award, Enterprise Agreement Or Contract?

To correctly apply public holiday penalty rates in WA, you need to identify what legally sets the employee’s minimum entitlements.

Many WA businesses and employees are covered by the national workplace relations system (under the Fair Work Act), where employees are often covered by a modern award or an enterprise agreement. However, some WA businesses and employees are covered by the WA state industrial relations system, where different instruments (including WA awards) may apply.

1) Modern Awards (Common Under The National System)

A modern award can set:

public holiday penalty rates
minimum shift lengths on public holidays
when a public holiday rate applies (and when it doesn’t)
rules for part-time and casual employees
whether alternative arrangements may be agreed (for example, time off in lieu in some cases)

The key point: you can’t assume the public holiday rate is the same across industries. Hospitality, retail, health, professional services, and labour hire can all have different award terms.

2) Enterprise Agreements

If your business has an enterprise agreement in place, it will usually set the public holiday rates and conditions for your employees. Enterprise agreements can differ from the award, but they must still meet the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) at the approval stage.

If you’re relying on an enterprise agreement, make sure you’re applying:

the correct classification levels
the correct penalty rate clause
any special requirements (like written agreements for time off in lieu)

3) Employment Contracts (And Why They Don’t Override Minimums)

Employment contracts are still important because they can set practical arrangements (like ordinary hours, overtime triggers, and rostering expectations). But a contract generally can’t reduce an employee’s minimum entitlements under the applicable award or enterprise agreement.

That’s why it’s worth ensuring you have a properly drafted Employment Contract in place that aligns with the relevant award or agreement rather than accidentally conflicting with it.

If you use “all-inclusive” salaries, you should be especially careful: public holidays are often where salary assumptions break down if you haven’t done a proper set-off analysis and kept accurate records.

How Do You Calculate Public Holiday Pay In WA?

There’s no one-size-fits-all calculation, but the process is usually consistent:

Confirm the day is a WA public holiday for your location (or a substitute day applies).
Confirm the employee’s coverage: modern award, WA award, or enterprise agreement (and classification).
Identify whether the employee is full-time, part-time, or casual.
Check the relevant clause for public holiday rates and conditions.
Apply the correct hourly rate and loadings for the hours actually worked.
Check if other entitlements also apply (for example, overtime rules, minimum engagement, or allowances).

If you want a quick sense-check on public holiday entitlements and how they interact with payroll calculations, a public holiday pay calculator can be a helpful starting point - but you should still verify your exact award or agreement clauses before processing payroll.

Example 1: Full-Time Employee Who Doesn’t Work The Public Holiday

In many workplaces, if a full-time employee would ordinarily have worked on that day (based on their usual roster), they are entitled to be paid their base rate for their ordinary hours, even if the business is closed.

This is often where businesses slip up with “we’re closed so nobody gets paid” assumptions. Whether you must pay depends on eligibility and the employee’s ordinary hours.

Example 2: Casual Employee Working On A Public Holiday

Casuals are generally paid a casual loading instead of receiving paid leave entitlements. But that doesn’t mean public holidays are “just another day”. Many awards provide specific public holiday penalty rates for casuals working on the day.

Depending on the award, the public holiday rate may be expressed as:

base rate x public holiday multiplier (with casual loading already built in), or
base rate + casual loading + additional public holiday penalties (less common, but you need to read the clause carefully)

Because the structure varies, you should avoid manually applying “time and a half plus 25%” unless you’re sure the award uses that method.

Example 3: Public Holiday + Overtime

It’s common for public holiday shifts to run longer than usual - especially if you’re in retail, hospitality, events, or essential services.

If an employee works beyond the ordinary hours or outside rostered hours, overtime may apply on top of public holiday rates, or it may be dealt with differently depending on the award.

This is exactly why it’s worth understanding how your award handles overtime rates and when overtime is triggered, so you don’t accidentally underpay (or overpay) when shifts blow out.

Don’t Forget Weekend Interactions

Some public holidays fall on weekends, and some weekend rates may already be higher than weekday rates. The award or agreement will typically tell you whether the public holiday rate replaces the weekend rate or sits on top of it (in most cases, you don’t “stack” penalties unless the industrial instrument clearly allows it).

Having a general handle on weekend pay rates helps you spot when a payroll outcome looks wrong before it becomes a larger underpayment issue.

Common Compliance Traps For WA Employers

Public holiday issues don’t usually happen because an employer is trying to do the wrong thing. They happen because public holidays add complexity quickly - particularly when you have a mix of full-time, part-time and casual staff, changing rosters, and multiple venues.

Here are the most common traps we see small businesses fall into.

Assuming A “Standard” Public Holiday Rate Applies To Everyone

There’s a temptation to set a blanket rule like “public holidays are double time” and leave it at that.

In reality, your obligations depend on:

the applicable award or enterprise agreement
the employee’s classification
whether they are casual/part-time/full-time
minimum shift engagement rules
whether overtime is triggered

A blanket rule can be a useful internal guideline, but it should never replace checking the instrument.

Getting Substitute Days Wrong

Substitute public holidays can create payroll errors if your rostering system is set up for one state or doesn’t update automatically for WA dates.

Practically, this can result in:

paying a public holiday rate on the wrong day
missing the public holiday rate entirely
incorrectly recording ordinary hours versus public holiday hours

Not Paying Eligible Staff Who Don’t Work

If an eligible employee would normally work that day (for example, it falls on their usual rostered day), they may be entitled to be paid their base rate even if they don’t work because the business is closed.

Employers sometimes accidentally treat the day as unpaid time off - particularly if they don’t have clear policies or don’t understand how “ordinary hours” are determined for part-time employees with set patterns.

Changing Rosters Too Late

Public holidays often cause roster reshuffles. But many awards and agreements have rules about how much notice you must give employees of shifts, cancellations, or changes.

To stay on the right side of compliance (and minimise disputes), it’s helpful to understand the legal requirements for employee rostering and build your internal processes around them - especially before peak periods.

Thinking A “Cash-Out” Or Alternative Arrangement Can Be Done Informally

Some businesses try to “average it out” by offering a different day off, paying a flat amount, or making an informal deal with the employee.

Sometimes alternative arrangements are possible - but only if the award or agreement allows it, and often only if it’s documented properly (for example, time off in lieu requirements or individual flexibility arrangement rules).

If you want flexibility, it’s important to do it in a way that stands up if you’re later audited or challenged.

Underestimating The Consequences Of Underpayment

Underpayments can lead to:

backpay liabilities (sometimes years of backpay)
penalties
time and cost responding to Fair Work complaints
reputational risk and staff turnover

Even where the mistake is accidental, the impact can be significant. It’s worth being proactive about Fair Work Act penalties so you understand what’s at stake and why good systems matter.

Practical Steps: How To Manage Public Holidays In WA Without The Stress

Public holidays don’t need to be a scramble. A few proactive steps can make your compliance much easier (and help your payroll team avoid last-minute corrections).

Step 1: Confirm Coverage And Classifications Early

Make sure you know:

which award (or enterprise agreement) applies to each role
each employee’s classification level
their employment type (casual, part-time, full-time)

If you’re unsure, it’s worth getting advice early - the correct award classification is the foundation for getting public holiday penalty rates right.

Step 2: Set Clear Internal Rules For Rosters And Swap Requests

Public holidays often trigger employee requests like:

“Can I swap shifts?”
“Can I work the public holiday?”
“Can I take leave instead?”

Clear policies help you handle these requests consistently. They also reduce the chance of an ad-hoc decision leading to an underpayment or discrimination complaint.

Step 3: Keep Strong Time And Wage Records

If you ever need to defend your payroll practices, your records matter.

For public holidays, you should be able to show:

who was rostered to work
who actually worked (start/finish times and breaks)
what was paid, and how you calculated it
any agreements that modify ordinary arrangements (where permitted)

This is particularly important where staff work irregular hours, or where you use an annualised salary arrangement.

Step 4: Use Written Agreements When You Vary Arrangements

If you need to vary a shift, change ordinary hours, or document an employee’s agreement to a certain arrangement, do it properly and keep it in writing.

Good documentation isn’t about being “formal for the sake of it” - it’s about clarity, fairness, and avoiding a future dispute where two people remember the agreement differently.

Step 5: Plan For Operational Changes (Including Closures)

If you’re planning to close for a public holiday, consider:

which employees would have ordinarily worked that day
whether you need to offer alternative work (where applicable)
how you will communicate closure and pay expectations

And if you’re open, make sure your managers understand the difference between “asking” and “directing” an employee to work, and what the applicable rules say about refusals and reasonableness.

A Quick Note On Ending Employment Around Public Holidays

Public holidays often sit inside notice periods (for example, resignations tendered just before Christmas or Easter). If employment is ending, you may also need to consider how notice, final pay, and public holidays interact.

Where you’re considering ending employment earlier than the notice period, payment in lieu of notice can come into play, and it’s important to calculate final entitlements carefully to avoid disputes.

Key Takeaways

There isn’t one universal rule for public holiday penalty rates in WA - the applicable award (including WA awards in the state system) or enterprise agreement usually determines what you must pay.
Public holiday compliance is both a payroll issue and a rostering issue, so you need to plan ahead (especially in peak seasons).
Eligible employees may still need to be paid for a public holiday even if they don’t work, depending on their ordinary hours and the applicable rules.
Public holiday shifts can trigger additional obligations like minimum engagement periods, overtime, and special conditions for casual employees.
Strong records, clear policies, and properly drafted contracts reduce the risk of underpayment claims and Fair Work action.
If you’re unsure which instrument applies or how to calculate public holiday pay, it’s worth getting advice before you run payroll.

If you’d like help reviewing your award coverage, contracts, and payroll processes for public holidays in WA, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.