Fair Work Ombudsman says employers and employees should check pay rates and entitlements over the Christmas and New Year holidays
December 11, 2012
The Fair Work Ombudsman is urging employers and employees to check pay rates and entitlements that apply over the Christmas and New Year public holidays.
Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson says both parties need to get prepared now to ensure the correct rates are being paid during the festive period.
The FWO has updated the public holidays section of its website with information about penalty rates on public holidays in each state and territory.
The information includes the dates of various public holidays and part-day public holidays, together with advice relating to rates of pay and requesting or declining to work on public holidays.
“Whether you are a business operator preparing for a busy festive trading period or an employee working through the holiday season, it’s important you are aware of the penalty rates that apply,” Wilson says.
The FWO says it investigated more than 800 complaints relating to the underpayment of public holiday penalty rates last financial year.
Tens of thousands of dollars were recovered for hundreds of employees around the country who had been short-changed their public holiday penalty rates.
