Q/ The Australia Day public holiday falls on Monday January 28, 2013, but Australia Day itself is on Saturday January 26, 2013. What should we pay employees who work on either of those days?
A/ January 26 has been substituted by January 28 as the public holiday in every State and Territory. This means that Monday Jan 28 is regarded as the Public Holiday and Saturday January 26 is just a “regular” Saturday.
People who work on January 26 will get normal Saturday payments. People who work on January 28 will get any applicable Public Holiday payments.
As always you need to check any Award or EBA that covers your employees’ work to ensure there are no special considerations in those documents.
You can find more information on substituted public holidays at http://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/public-holidays/pages/default.aspx