AUXILIARY UPDATE : 29 mARCH 2024

PUBLIC HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENTS FOR EASTER, ANZAC DAY AND LABOUR DAY

With the Easter period, ANZAC Day and Labour Day almost upon us, I provide the following to UFUQ Auxiliary Firefighter members to clear up any confusion that may exist regarding what you are entitled to claim on the many upcoming public holidays.

As a reminder, the relevant public holidays are:

Good Friday
Friday, 29 March 2024

The day after Good Friday (Easter Saturday)
Saturday, 30 March 2024

Easter Sunday
Sunday, 31 March 2024

Easter Monday
Monday, 1 April 2024

ANZAC Day
Thursday, 25 April 2024

Labour Day
Monday, 6 May 2024

As always, please be aware that the public holiday provisions and arrangements relevant to your work situation will apply for each of these days.

As you would know, in accordance clause 26(b) of the Auxiliary Firefighters’ Award – State 2016, you are entitled to 2.5 times the rate prescribed for your classification as tabled at clause 12(a). That payment is for a minimum of 4 hours for each engagement. So if the callout is for 30 minutes, you get paid for 4 hours at 2.5 times your normal rate. If the callout goes beyond 4 hours, you continue to get paid that rate for the actual length of the callout (for example if the callout was 4.5 hours, you’d claim 4.5 hours at 2.5 times your ordinary hourly rate).

If you are called to another job within a 4-hour period that still applies from a previous job, that second job is included in payment for the 4 hours from the first callout, unless the time on that second job goes beyond the 4 hours from the first callout, then you are paid for the actual time worked. This time worked within the first 4 hours can occur on multiple callouts until the 4-hour period passes, then the system starts again.

That means that if any callout after the first callout is outside of the original callout’s 4-hour period, you are entitled to another 4 hours minimum. That 4-hour minimum engagement entitlement is repeated throughout the full 24-hour period of each public holiday. Your union has heard of all sorts of scenarios where multiple callouts occur across a public holiday, and it is difficult to set out what applies in each scenario.

Put simply, you must separate the time worked from the time paid in your thinking. Your work on public holidays is paid in either 4-hour blocks as compensation for minimum engagement, or it is paid at time for time if a callout goes for longer than 4 hours.  There could be multiple jobs within a 4-hour block, and there can also be multiple 4 hours blocks paid to you.

With so many public holidays across the period, there is the possibility that errors may be made by QFES and/or Queensland Shared Services (QSS) regarding your wages for the relevant dates. If an error is made, in the first instance, please ensure you raise the issue with your regional HR contact as soon as possible.

If an issue remains unresolved, after contacting regional HR and receiving a reply that you don’t agree with, please notify your local UFUQ representative for assistance. If seeking assistance please ensure you provide your local UFUQ representative with the appropriate evidence for your claim, including the reasons provided to you by HR (preferably in writing) as to why your claim has not been accepted.

John Oliver - General Secretary