Public holidays can be confusing for part-time workers. Do you get paid if the holiday falls on a day you would normally work? What if it falls on a day you never work? And what if your boss asks you to work on the holiday itself? The answers come down to one simple idea: your ordinary roster. This guide explains the National Employment Standards (NES) rule in plain language and shows how public holiday pay is calculated, so you can check your own payslip with confidence.
The short answer is yes — permanent part-time employees have the same public holiday entitlement as full-time employees, but it is applied to their own part-time pattern of work. That distinction is where most of the confusion comes from, and it is what this article unpacks.
The NES Rule: You Are Paid Only for Days You Normally Work
Under the National Employment Standards in the Fair Work Act 2009 (section 116), a permanent part-time employee who is absent on a public holiday is paid their base rate of pay for the ordinary hours they would have worked that day. The critical condition is that the holiday must fall on a day the employee normally works. If the employee’s ordinary hours do not include that weekday, there is no public holiday payment for that day.
For example, imagine a permanent part-time retail assistant who normally works Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. If a public holiday falls on a Monday, they are paid for the hours they would have worked that Monday, even though they do not attend work. If it falls on a Tuesday — a day they never work — they receive no public holiday payment. The entitlement follows the roster, not the calendar.
It is also worth knowing what your employer cannot do. An employer cannot change a roster to deliberately avoid paying this entitlement — for example, quietly removing a public holiday from your roster in advance purely to avoid the payment. If you suspect your roster has been altered for this reason, raise it with your employer in the first instance and, if needed, seek advice from the Fair Work Ombudsman.
What “Base Rate of Pay” Actually Means
Public holiday pay for a part-time employee who does not work the holiday is paid at the base rate of pay. This is an important detail, because the base rate is not the same as your total take-home pay on a normal shift. The base rate excludes loadings, allowances, bonuses, overtime and penalty rates. In other words, you are paid your ordinary hourly rate for the hours you would have worked — nothing extra is added on top.
| Pay component | Included in public holiday pay (not worked)? |
|---|---|
| Base hourly rate | Yes |
| Shift loadings | No |
| Allowances (e.g. meal or uniform allowance) | No |
| Bonuses or commissions | No |
| Overtime rates | No |
| Weekend or evening penalty rates | No |
To work out your own entitlement, multiply your base hourly rate by the number of ordinary hours you would have worked on that day. If you work a six-hour shift at a base rate of $30 per hour, your public holiday pay for a holiday you do not work is $180.
When No Public Holiday Payment Is Due
There are several common situations where no public holiday payment is owed. First, as explained above, if the holiday falls on a day you do not normally work, there is no payment. This is the most common reason part-time employees receive nothing for a particular holiday.
Second, casual employees are only paid for a public holiday if they actually work it. Casuals do not receive paid public holiday leave for days they do not work, because their casual loading is paid in lieu of entitlements such as paid leave. If a casual employee is rostered on and works the public holiday, they are paid the applicable casual penalty rate for the hours worked. If they are not rostered on, there is no payment.
Third, part-day public holidays work on the same principle but for part of the day only. Public holidays are set by the Fair Work Act for national days, plus state and territory declarations, so the list varies by location. Some states declare part-day public holidays — for example, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in some states — and these are paid only for the declared part-day hours. If your ordinary shift overlaps only part of the declared period, only that overlap is treated as the public holiday.
If You Work on a Public Holiday: Penalty Rates Apply
The picture changes completely if you actually work on the public holiday. In that case, you are not paid the simple base rate described above. Instead, the applicable modern award penalty rate applies. The exact rate depends on your award, but the most common rates for full-time and part-time staff under the Retail, Hospitality, Fast Food and Restaurant awards are 225% of the base rate. For casuals, the common rate is 250% — and that casual rate already includes the 25% casual loading, so the loading is not added again on top.
| Employee type | Common public holiday penalty rate | Hourly rate at $30 base |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent part-time (Retail, Hospitality, Fast Food, Restaurant awards) | 225% of base rate | $67.50 |
| Casual (same awards) | 250% of base rate (includes casual loading) | $75.00 |
Some awards allow a lower rate plus a substitute day off by agreement — for example, 125% plus a day added to annual leave under the Hospitality and Restaurant awards, or 100% plus time off under the Retail Award. These alternatives must be agreed, not imposed unilaterally, so always check your award or contract for the exact provision that applies to you.
Before agreeing to a public holiday shift, it is worth estimating what it is worth. The shift penalty calculator can help you compare penalty rates across shift types, and the overtime calculator is useful when a holiday shift runs longer than your ordinary hours.
Worked Examples: What the Numbers Look Like
The following examples all use the same starting point: a part-time employee with a base rate of $30 per hour who would normally work a six-hour shift on the day in question. This makes it easy to compare the three main scenarios side by side.
| Scenario | Calculation | Total pay |
|---|---|---|
| Holiday falls on a normal work day, not worked | 6 hours × $30 base rate | $180 |
| Same shift worked at 225% (permanent part-time) | 6 hours × $67.50 | $405 |
| Same casual shift worked at 250% | 6 hours × $75.00 | $450 |
The difference between the three outcomes is striking. Not working the holiday gives you $180 — ordinary pay for the day, with no penalty component. Working the same shift as a permanent part-time employee at 225% gives you $405, more than double the base amount, while a casual at 250% receives $450. It is well worth checking that the correct penalty rate has been applied to your payslip.
To apply these examples to your own situation, replace $30 with your own base hourly rate and six hours with your usual shift length. At $28 per hour for a five-hour shift, a day not worked is worth 5 × $28 = $140, while working it at 225% is worth 5 × $63 = $315.
Your Right to Be Absent — and When You Can Be Asked to Work
Employees have the right to be absent on a public holiday. An employer can only reasonably request an employee to work on a public holiday, and whether a request is reasonable depends on a range of factors, including the type of employment and the employee’s personal circumstances. For a part-time employee, relevant factors include whether the request fits within their ordinary pattern of work, their family or caring responsibilities, and how much notice was given.
In practice, a request to work a public holiday is not an instruction you must automatically accept, but neither is it something to refuse without considering the circumstances. If your workplace is normally open on public holidays — as many retail stores, restaurants and hospitals are — a request to work may be reasonable. If it falls well outside your usual hours, or you have a genuine personal reason you cannot work that day, those factors weigh in your favour. If unsure, ask your employer to put the request in writing and discuss alternatives, such as swapping the shift with a colleague.
Note that the right to be absent and the right to be paid are two separate things. Being absent on a holiday that falls on your normal work day entitles you to base-rate pay; being absent on a holiday that falls on a day you do not normally work creates no payment, because there are no ordinary hours to pay for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do part-time workers get paid for public holidays in Australia?
Yes, but only when the holiday falls on a day they normally work. They are paid their base rate for the ordinary hours they would have worked that day; if it falls on a day they do not normally work, no payment is due.
How is public holiday pay calculated for a part-time employee?
Multiply your base hourly rate by the number of ordinary hours you would have worked on that day. For example, at a base rate of $30 per hour for a six-hour shift, the payment is $180. Loadings, allowances, bonuses, overtime and penalty rates are excluded from this calculation when you do not work the holiday.
What if I work on the public holiday?
If you work on the public holiday, the applicable award penalty rate applies instead of the base rate. Under the Retail, Hospitality, Fast Food and Restaurant awards, the common rate is 225% of base rate for permanent part-time staff and 250% for casuals. At a $30 base rate, a six-hour shift is worth $405 at 225% and $450 at 250%.
Do casual part-time workers get public holiday pay?
Casuals are only paid for a public holiday if they actually work it — there is no paid public holiday leave for a day not worked, because casual loading is paid in lieu of leave entitlements. If a casual works the holiday, they receive the casual penalty rate, commonly 250%.
Can my employer change my roster to avoid paying public holiday pay?
No. If your ordinary pattern of work includes the weekday on which the holiday falls, you are entitled to be paid for it. If you believe your roster was changed for this reason, raise it with your employer and, if necessary, contact the Fair Work Ombudsman.
What happens if a public holiday falls during my annual leave?
A public holiday during annual leave or sick leave is not counted as leave under the NES. If the holiday falls on a day you would normally have worked, that day is treated as a public holiday and your leave balance is not reduced for it. This applies to permanent part-time employees in the same way as to full-time employees.
Conclusion: Check Your Roster, Then Check Your Payslip
Public holiday pay for part-time workers comes down to a straightforward test: does the holiday fall on a day you normally work? If it does and you do not work it, you are paid your base rate for the hours you would have worked. If it does not, no payment is due. If you work the holiday, your award penalty rate applies — commonly 225% for permanent part-time staff and 250% for casuals under the major retail and hospitality awards. Keeping a copy of your roster and knowing your base rate will help you spot payslip errors quickly.
To estimate what a public holiday shift is worth for your own rate and hours, try the shift penalty calculator or the overtime calculator. If something on your payslip does not match this guide, ask your employer for a breakdown — most errors are simple roster or rate mistakes.