Casual employees are not entitled to be paid when they do not work because the day is a public holiday.

Full time and part time employees who are not required to work on a day solely because that day is a public holiday must be paid for the same hours they work ordinarily work at their ordinary rate of pay. This includes apprentices and trainees, employees paid by commission or piece rate, and employees employed by household employers in a private home.

For example, Jian is a part time employee who works 9 to 2pm each Monday. On a Monday public holiday, if Jian is not required to work because the day is a public holiday, he must be paid his ordinary rate of pay for the 5 hours he would normally have worked.

Full time and part time employees paid wholly by commission, percentage reward or piece rates are to be paid the highest of the following for a public holiday:

• a rate payable under a WA award, industrial agreement or contract of employment for a period of leave;
• a rate calculated according to the employee’s average weekly earnings over a period totalling 365 days immediately before the day of the public holiday; or
• the applicable minimum rate of pay.

Where the rate of payment for a public holiday is being calculated according to the employee’s average weekly earnings over the 365 days before the day of the public holiday, any period during which the employee was on unpaid leave, or any period during which the employee was stood down in accordance with an award, agreement or legislative provision is are not included in the calculation.

There is no minimum entitlement under the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act to payment of a higher rate of pay for working on a public holiday for full time, part time or casual employees. Employees who are not covered by a WA award or industrial agreement which requires the employer to provide a higher rate of pay when working on a public holiday are entitled to be paid their normal rate of pay.

Many WA awards and industrial agreements require employees (including casual employees) to be paid a higher rate of pay (a public holiday penalty rate) for working on a public holiday, and may specify other provisions for public holidays, including substitution of a weekend public holiday to the following Monday, and alternate rostering arrangements.

It is unlawful for an employer to not provide an employee who is entitled to a public holiday penalty rate of pay with the correct wages. Many awards and agreements also specify a minimum number of hours an employee must work / be paid for when working on a public holiday.

To check whether you or your employees are entitled to a public holiday penalty rate:

• If you know which WA award covers you:
  • View the relevant WA award summaries if your award has a Wageline award summary; or
  • check the public holiday provisions in the award on the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission website;
• If you don’t know whether you are covered by a WA award – follow the steps on the Finding the right pay rate page to work out if any award applies.
• If you are covered by an industrial agreement, please check the specific provisions in the agreement by contacting the human resources area of your employing organisation.

This section does not apply to the Easter Sunday public holiday - the Easter Sunday public holiday page has details on arrangements for Easter Sunday.

The minimum entitlement for employees who are not covered by a WA award or industrial agreement is to observe the public holiday on the actual day, without any substitution of a public holiday which falls on a weekend to the following Monday.

For example, in 2023, Sunday 1 January 2023 was the New Year’s Day public holiday under the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993 for employees not covered by an award or agreement and Monday 2 January 2023 was not considered a public holiday.

WA awards and industrial agreements usually specify public holiday arrangements for the purposes of the award or agreement, and may establish arrangements for when a public holiday falls on a weekend.

Under some WA awards, a public holiday which falls on a weekend is substituted with a weekday public holiday, usually the following Monday (Boxing Day may be substituted to a Tuesday). In this case the substituted weekday is the public holiday for the purposes of the award (including payment of public holiday rates) and the weekend day is not a public holiday for the purposes of the award.

For example, in 2023, Monday 2 January 2023 was the New Year’s Day public holiday for employees covered by the Shop and Warehouse (Wholesale and Retail Establishments) Award, as under this WA award when New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, the public holiday is observed on the following Monday. Sunday 1 January 2023 was not a public holiday for the purposes of this award.

An alternative arrangement in WA awards is that where a public holiday falls on the weekend the weekend day itself is the public holiday for award purposes (including payment of public holiday pay rates) and the following Monday is not a public holiday for the purposes of the award.

For example, for employees covered by the Restaurant, Tearoom and Catering Workers Award Sunday 1 January 2023 was the New Year’s Day public holiday for the purposes of the award and the following Monday was not a public holiday.

A third less common arrangement in WA awards is that that where a public holiday falls on the weekend both the weekend day and the following Monday are considered as public holidays for award purposes (including the payment of public holiday pay rates).

To check your public holiday arrangements:

• If you know which WA award covers you:
  • View the relevant WA award summaries if your award has a Wageline award summary; or
  • check the public holiday provisions in the award on the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission website;
• If you don’t know whether you are covered by a WA award – follow the steps on the Finding the right pay rate page to work out if any award applies.
• If you are covered by an industrial agreement, please check the specific provisions in the agreement by contacting the human resources area of your employing organisation.

Wageline publishes specific information for each upcoming public holiday, which outlines public holiday entitlements for employees who are not covered by a WA award or agreement, and for employees covered by three key WA awards - Shop and Warehouse (Wholesale and Retail Establishments) Award, Restaurant, Tearoom and Catering Workers Award and Hairdressers Award. 

• Easter 2023 public holiday entitlements
• Anzac Day 2023 public holiday entitlements
• Western Australia Day 2023 public holiday entitlements

For other employees, to check your public holiday entitlements for upcoming public holidays:

• If you know which WA award covers you:
  • View the relevant WA award summary if your award has a Wageline award summary; or
  • check the public holiday provisions in the award on the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission website;
• If you don’t know whether you are covered a WA award – follow the steps on the Finding the right pay rate page to work out if any award applies.
• If you are covered by an industrial agreement, please check the specific provisions in the agreement by contacting the human resources area of your employing organisation.

• Christmas - New Year 2022-2023 public holiday entitlements
• Australia Day 2023 public holiday entitlements
• Labour Day 2023 public holiday entitlements

Some regional areas in Western Australia celebrate the King’s Birthday public holiday on a different day to the rest of the state, to coincide with a day of regional significance.

These areas and the relevant dates are listed on the Regional WA public holiday dates page shortly after they are proclaimed each year.

In these regional areas, the alternative King’s Birthday public holiday is observed instead of the King’s Birthday public holiday observed in the rest of WA. The regional public holiday day is a public holiday for the purposes of the minimum entitlements to public holidays, and for the purposes of any relevant WA award or industrial agreement. The date on which the King’s birthday public holiday is observed in the rest of Western Australia is not a public holiday in these regions.

Easter Sunday became a public holiday in Western Australia in 2022. Visit the Easter Sunday public holiday page for information on the specific arrangements for the Easter Sunday public holiday. 

Easter Saturday is not a public holiday in Western Australia. There is no minimum entitlement to any special arrangements for Easter Saturday. 

Some WA awards do recognise Easter Saturday as a public holiday for the purposes of the award, and employees under these awards who work Easter Saturday must be paid public holiday rates. Key WA awards in this category are:

• Aboriginal Communities and Organisations Award
• Crisis Assistance, Supported Housing Industry Award
• Social and Community Services Award.
• Local Government Officers Award
• Municipal Employees
• Retail Pharmacists Award

View the relevant WA award summary for these awards for public holiday pay rates.

A group of other WA awards require employees to be paid a higher rate of pay when working on Easter Saturday (also referred to as Easter Eve in some WA awards). 

Key WA awards that require a higher rate of pay when working on Easter Sunday are:

• Shop and Warehouse (Wholesale and Retail Establishments) Award
• Building Trades Construction Award
• Clerks (Wholesale and Retail Establishments) Award
• Hairdressers Award

View the WA award summary for these awards for information on the rates for Easter Saturday.

If you are covered by an industrial agreement, please check if there is specific provisions in the agreement regarding Easter Saturday by contacting the human resources area of your employing organisation.

Annual leave or personal leave

If an employee is on a period of paid annual leave or personal leave, they do not have a minimum entitlement to payment for a public holiday because they are not required to work solely because it is a public holiday, but rather are absent because they are on a period of annual or personal leave. However, a WA award or industrial agreement may provide for employees to have paid public holidays which fall during a period of leave. 

To check your public holiday arrangements:

• If you know which WA award covers you check the public holiday provisions in the award on the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission website;
• If you don’t know whether you are covered by a WA award – follow the steps on the Finding the right pay rate page to work out if any award applies.
• If you are covered by an industrial agreement, please check the specific provisions in the agreement by contacting the human resources area of your employing organisation.

Long service leave

If a full time or part time employee is on a period of long service leave under the state Long Service Leave Act 1958, and the employee would have ordinarily been entitled to the public holiday had they not been on long service leave, the period of long service leave is increased by one day for each such holiday.

Unpaid leave

If an employee is on a period of unpaid leave, they are not entitled to payment for the public holiday as they are not absent solely because it is a public holiday.

The entitlement to be paid for a public holiday is based on whether an employee would ordinarily be required to work on that day, but is not working solely because it is a public holiday.

If the public holiday is a day that the employee would ordinarily work, they would generally still have an entitlement to be paid for the day, if there has been a one-off change to the roster made to avoid the public holiday.

If a public holiday falls on an employee’s non-working day there is not a minimum entitlement to a paid day off or any alternative public holiday arrangement. For example, a full time employee who works Tuesday to Saturday would not be entitled to a paid day off for a Monday public holiday.

Some WA award or industrial agreements contains specific provisions for alternative public holiday arrangements when public holidays fall on an employee’s rostered day off or non-working day.

For example, under the Hairdressers Award, if a public holiday falls on a full time employee’s non-working day (referred to as a ‘rostered day off’), then the rostered day off is to be taken on the employee’s next following working day, or by mutual agreement, another day within the same week. Alternatively, the award allows the employer and employee to agree on the employee accumulating up to five rostered days off in any given year, which may be taken at a mutually agreed time.

To check your public holiday entitlements:

• If you know which WA award covers you:
  • View the relevant WA award summaries if your award has a Wageline award summary; or
  • check the public holiday provisions in the award on the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission website;
• If you don’t know whether you are covered a WA award – follow the steps on the Finding the right pay rate page to work out if any award applies.
• If you are covered by an industrial agreement, please check the specific provisions in the agreement by contacting the human resources area of your employing organisation.