CODE 2, VOL 36, NO 6 : 12 april 2022

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 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, 15 April 2022

The day after Good Friday (Easter Saturday)
Saturday, 16 April 2022

Easter Sunday
Sunday, 17 April 2022

Easter Monday
Monday, 18 April 2022

ANZAC Day
Monday, 25 April 2022

Labour Day
Monday, 2 May 2022

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

As you would know, in accordance the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service Employees Award – State 2016 (the Award), if you are a continuous shift worker, on these dates you are entitled to the relevant public holiday penalty rates for any hours worked or an additional 8 hours’ pay if you are rostered off duty, or on annual leave or long service leave (please note that the Labour Day Public Holiday is prescribed separately in the Award and you will not be entitled to an additional 8 hours’ pay if you are on long service leave on that day, the additional 8 hours’ pay only applies if you are rostered off duty or on annual leave on the Labour Day Public Holiday).

For continuous shift workers, the Award also prescribes that if you perform less than 8 hours of rostered work on a public holiday, you shall receive an additional payment equal to the difference between the number of hours worked on the public holiday and 8 hours, at the rate of single time.

For example, if you worked a night shift that fell on one of the dates listed above, you may have only worked 6 hours on that day (particularly if it was your first night shift that commenced on the relevant date). In this case, you would therefore be entitled to claim an additional 2 hours’ pay (at single time) as that is equal to the difference between the number of hours worked on the public holiday (6 hours) and 8 hours.

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) in regard to 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, subsequent to 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