Q/ An employee is using their Annual Leave in conjunction with their unpaid parental leave. What should I do about public holidays?
A/ If the public holiday falls during the period covered by the paid annual leave time, then the leave period is extended by the public holiday as usual (That is, it is only extended for days that the employee normally would have been required to work had they not been on annual leave). If the public holiday falls during the period of unpaid leave, then no payment is necessary.
Q/ The public holidays fall during the period when the employee is receiving the Government Paid Parental Leave Payment (but no other payment from the employer). What should I do about public holidays?
A/ The Government PPL payment is a set amount per week for 18 weeks. This does not change when public holidays fall. The employee will not receive any additional payment from the Government due to a public holiday falling in the period nor will the 18 week period be extended.
Q/ The public holidays fall during a period when the employee is receiving payment under our Company’s Paid Parental Leave scheme. What should I do about public holidays?
A/ You need to check your company policy about this situation – hopefully it is covered. If not you will need to get internal advice about your policy. Usually the intention is for the employee to receive a set number of weeks’ pay from the company and these schemes are not designed to be extended by extra payments should a public holiday fall