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Tips & Advice

“Holidays in the Workplace “

By 15/11/2020January 11th, 2023No Comments
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Printing GoldCoast

 

Holidays in the Workplace

Printing GoldCoast. The holiday season is fast approaching and it’s more important than ever to focus on safety in the workplace.

When you rush and take shortcuts to get things done at work, the chances of making a mistake are very high and can lead to a serious injury or workplace fatality.

Over the past decade 22% of all workplace fatalities have occurred in November and December, equating to 51 deaths in the workplace. One workplace death is far too many and the fact that that all these families will spend the holidays grieving for a loved one who died as the result of a workplace incident is devastating.

Queensland – Printing GoldCoast

Friday 1 January – New Year’s Day
Tuesday 26 January – Australia Day
Friday 2 April – Good Friday
Saturday 3 April – The day after Good Friday
Sunday 4 April – Easter Sunday
Monday 5 April – Easter Monday
Monday 26 April – Anzac Day (substitute day as Anzac Day falls on a weekend)
Monday 3 May – Labour Day
Wednesday 11 August – Royal Queensland Show (Brisbane area only)
Monday 4 October – Queen’s Birthday
Friday 24 December – Christmas Eve (from 6pm to midnight)
Saturday 25 December – Christmas Day
Sunday 26 December – Boxing Day
Monday 27 December – Additional public holiday for Christmas Day
Tuesday 28 December – Additional public holiday for Boxing Day

Cultural & religious holidays – Printing GoldCoast

Australia is a vibrant and multicultural nation boasting significant cultural and religious diversity, with workplaces across the country reflecting this diversity.

Recognising and embracing diversity in the workplace helps staff feel valued for their unique qualities, ideas and perspectives and extends to recognising that staff may wish to celebrate culturally important or religious days and events throughout the year.

Some examples of cultural or religious holidays include Lunar New Year, Diwali, Ramadan and NAIDOC Week.

Working (or not working) on public holidays – Printing GoldCoast

Employees have the right to be absent from work on a day, or part day, that is a public holiday.

Employers who decide to keep their business open on public holidays are allowed to ask employees to work, as long as the request is reasonable.

Employees are allowed to refuse a request to work if they have reasonable grounds.

Employers should consider these things when deciding if a request is reasonable:

  • the employee’s personal circumstances (e.g. family responsibilities)
  • whether the employee will get more pay (e.g. penalty rates)
  • the needs of the workplace
  • the type of work the employee does
  • whether the employee’s salary includes work on a public holiday
  • whether the employee is full-time, part-time, casual or a shift worker
  • how much notice the employee was given about working
  • the amount of notice the employee gives if they refuse the request.

When employees do agree to work on a public holiday, employers should make sure they are paid at least their base pay rate for all hours worked. Many awards, enterprise agreements and other registered agreements also provide additional entitlements for public holidays, including:

  • extra pay (e.g. public holiday rates)    an extra day off or extra annual leave
  • minimum shift lengths on public holidays
  • agreeing to substitute a public holiday for another day

Printing GoldCoast

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