Employer’s guide to public holidays: Easter, school holidays and Anzac Day

Understanding public holidays and what to pay workers can be confusing. With Easter and ANZAC Day coming up as well as the school holidays, employers must understand what public holiday pay is and how to calculate it accurately. In addition, some of your employees will have children and may require accommodations or time off during this busy period.

This can lead to a lot of questions such as:

• If one of the Easter public holidays falls during a period my employee is on annual leave, do I have to pay them extra?
• Can a staff member take annual leave during the school holidays?
• What do I need to pay my employees who work on a public holiday?

Whether you’re in charge of managing Easter holidays in the workplace or deciding whether your business will have Easter holiday operating hours this year, there are a few important public holiday employer obligations every business must be aware of. Luckily, Citation HR has prepared this cheat sheet guide to Easter, ANZAC Day and school holidays in each state and territory so you can keep your mind focused on running your business.

1. When are the Easter public holidays for 2026 in Australia? 

How to manage school holiday leave requests?

It’s a fact that school holidays impact on workplace operations, and every business owner must be aware of their employer’s responsibilities. So, what are the school holiday entitlements for employees? Many of your employees will have school-aged children and are likely to request time off work during the school holiday period. If an employee has the care or responsibility of a child whose school-age or younger, then pursuant to the Fair Work Act, they may have a right to request a flexible working arrangement during the school holiday period, which an employer can only refuse on reasonable business grounds.

In addition, if an employee makes a request for flexible working arrangements during school holidays, there are obligations an employer must fulfil, including consulting with the employee about the request. If you receive a flexible working request from an employee to alter their hours during the school holiday period, make sure you contact Citation HR so we can guide you through managing your obligations and ensure you’re navigating school holiday leave and business operations compliantly.

The school holiday dates for each state and territory are listed below:

2. When does ANZAC Day occur in 2026 in Australia?

Saturday, 25 April, in all states and territories. 

In NSW, A substitute public holiday will apply on Monday, 27 April 2026, as ANZAC Day falls on a weekend.

3. How to manage public holidays as an employer

Managing public holidays in the workplace isn’t as scary as it sounds. From adequately preparing for an increase in business or a well-deserved day off, it’s as simple as ensuring you’re on top of your employer’s responsibilities for public holiday pay rates, scheduling and rostering, and public holiday payroll calculations.

You must pay a permanent employee their base rate of pay if they are absent for their ordinary hours of work on that day. This is known as a ‘public holiday not worked.’ An employee’s base rate is the rate of pay payable to the employee for their ordinary hours of work, excluding the following payments:

• incentive-based payments and bonuses;
• loadings;
• monetary allowances;
• overtime or penalty rates; and
• any other separately identifiable amounts.

If your employee doesn’t have ordinary hours of work falling on a public holiday, they won’t be entitled to payment. However, it should be noted that as an employer you can’t temporarily alter rosters to avoid paying public holiday pay.

 4. If an employee works on a public holiday, what exactly should they get paid?

Incentives to work are created for some employees when public holidays come up. These penalties depend upon which modern award or enterprise agreement  applies to the employee in question. So, what are employer responsibilities for staff who work on public holidays?

The award or enterprise agreement will set out rates of pay that apply for work on a public holiday, and whether employees are entitled to any additional benefits such as a guaranteed number of working hours on the public holiday.

Look at the General Retail Industry Award 2020, for example, under which permanent and casual employees are to be paid 225 per cent and 250 per cent of the minimum hourly rate, respectively, when performing work on a public holiday.

5. An employee is on leave when a public holiday happens. How much should they get paid?

 Some staff will happen to be on annual leave during a public holiday. This public holiday doesn’t count as leave. Therefore, the day shouldn’t be deducted from the employee’s annual leave balance, and the employee is entitled to payment for their ordinary hours of work for that day at their base rate of pay.

6. Can I request my employee to work on a public holiday?

An employer can request (not direct) their employee work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable. When determining whether an employer’s request for work on a public holiday is reasonable, the following is considered:

1. the nature of the employer’s workplace or enterprise(including its operational requirements), and the nature of the work performed by the employee;
2. the employee’s personal circumstances, including family responsibilities;
3. whether the employee could reasonably expect that the employer might request work on the public holiday;
4. whether the employee is entitled to receive overtime payments, penalty rates or other compensation for, or a level of remuneration that reflects an expectation of, work on the public holiday;
5. the type of employment of the employee(for example, whether full-time, part-time, casual or shift work); and
6. the amount of notice in advance of the public holiday given by the employer when making the request.

An employee is only allowed to refuse an employer’s request to work on a public holiday if the refusal is reasonable taking into consideration the factors listed above.  

Want to reduce the chance of an error when it comes to dates, management, and budgeting wages? Citation HR is here to help

We know that managing people can be a juggle for business leaders; it’s time-consuming and challenging. If you want a software system and human help to lean on, talk to the team at Citation HR.

Everything you need to manage your people and protect your business is included in a Citation HR subscription.

• A complete HR audit that uncovers any risks and threats in your business.
• Access to our workplace relations experts 365 days a year via the 24/7 HR Advice Line.
• A powerful HRIS software that uses workflows and checklists to guide you through smart, legally compliant HR processes and stores all your employee records securely.
• A library of HR resources including policies, HR templates, and more all created by workplace lawyers
• With Citation HR in your corner, you can rest easy knowing that if an employment-related claim is made against your business, we’ll be there to protect you with our Advice Promise.
• From people management and workplace safety to Respect@Work legislation, Compliance Training Centre is curated by workplace experts with you and your employees in mind.
• HR on Demand Whether you’re faced with a challenging situation or require additional support, our expert HR and employment law consultants are ready to assist.

With Citation HR, you’ll have everything at your fingertips to ensure your business is 100 per cent compliant with legislation. Plus, you’ll gain invaluable time allowing you to focus on more important things, like building a culture of high performance.

The team at Citation HR will be able to assist you with any questions that arise during this busy period. Get in touch with us to discuss your HR needs.