Dairy industry employees covered by the Pastoral Award 2020 must be paid penalty rates of double time if they work on a public holiday.
Employees employed on an annual salary, or an Individual Flexibility Agreement may already have these entitlements incorporated into their pay. Please check individual employee arrangements.
National Employment Standards state employees who do not attend work on public holidays are to receive the base rate of pay they would have received for ordinary hours of work as follows:
• Full-time employees are entitled to a paid day off (7.6 hours) for public holidays which fall on days which they would ordinarily work. If they do not normally work on the day of the public holiday they are not entitled to pay.
• Part-time employees are entitled to be paid for the hours they would normally work on public holidays. If they do not normally work on the day of the public holiday they are not entitled to pay.
• Casual employees are not entitled to public holiday pay unless they are rostered for work on that day. If they work, they must be paid 225 per cent of their hourly casual base-rate.
You can find further information on public holiday pay rates, including whether you can make employees work these days, along with details for employees not covered by the Pastoral Award 2020, on our People in Dairy website.
If you have any further questions regarding employing people on your farm, please get in touch with the WestVic Dairy team.
