The Easter and ANZAC holidays can be a tricky time of year for HR professionals. Whether your business can open or will be closed, there are several different rules and requirements to think about ahead of these annual celebrations. In-between grappling with public holiday entitlements and trade restrictions, it can be hard to find time to enjoy the holiday yourself.

This short handbook is the cure for all your HR headaches at this time of year. Below you’ll find all you need to know to painlessly prepare for the upcoming Easter and ANZAC Day holidays.

2021 Easter and ANZAC Day holidays

This year the Easter and ANZAC Day holidays are:

  • Good Friday, Friday 2 April 2021;
  • Easter Sunday, Sunday 4 April 2021 (not a public holiday);
  • Easter Monday, Monday 5 April 2021; and
  • ANZAC Day, Sunday 25 April 2021 or Mondayised on Monday 26 April.

Restricted trading day rules for Easter and ANZAC Day

Under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990, all shops (with some exceptions) must stay closed before 1 PM on Anzac Day and all day on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, or Christmas Day. These are known as Restricted Trading Days.

Examples of businesses that may be exempt are mainly those which allow certain types of essential services to still be available, such as small grocery shops or dairies, garden centres, pharmacies, or petrol stations. Your local city council can also allow you to trade if they have a location policy in place.

You could face a fine of up to $1,000 if you decide to open your shop or business on a Restricted Trading Day without meeting the exemption criteria.

HR rules and requirements on Easter Sunday 

Because Easter Sunday is not a public holiday but is a Restricted Trading Day, there are some unique rules to follow when asking employees to work. Below are the essential rules to know if you can (and want to) open on Easter Sunday:

  • If you require your employees to work on Easter Sunday, you must notify the applicable employees in writing between four to eight weeks before Easter, as well as advise them that they have the right to refuse to work. Failure to provide this notice can put you at risk of a personal grievance claim if you insist that your employees do work on Easter Sunday.
  • Your employee must notify you in writing at least two weeks before Easter if they don’t want to work.
  • If your employees believe you’re mistreating them because they’ve refused to work, they may have grounds to make a personal grievance claim against you.
  • You can require your employee to work if:
    • their employment agreement states that you may need them to work on Easter Sunday;
    • you’ve provided them with adequate notice; and
    • they haven’t handed you a written refusal at least 14 days before Easter.

Employee entitlements over Easter and ANZAC Day

Day

 Employee rights and holiday entitlements

Good Friday

 

  

If your business can (and you want to) open on Good Friday under the Restricted Trading Day rules, your employees have a right to:

  • Decline to work if it’s not in their employment agreement that they must work on the public holiday and it’s not a normal working day for them.
  • Receive time and a half for every hour worked plus receive an alternative day off to use later if they normally work on a Friday.
  • Receive time and a half for every hour worked without getting an alternative day off if they don’t normally work on a Friday but they work on Good Friday.
  • If your business remains closed and it would otherwise be a normal working day for an employee, you only need to pay them their normal daily pay and the day off.

Easter Sunday

  

If your business can (and you want to) open on Good Sunday under the Restricted Trading Day rules, your employees have a right to:

  • Four to eight weeks’ notice before Easter that they can refuse to work on Easter Sunday.
  • Refuse to work on Easter Sunday with at least 14 days’ notice without reason.
  • Only receive their usual pay rate if they choose to work – with neither time and a half or an alternative day off.
  • If Sunday is a day your employee normally works, but your business must close on Easter Sunday, the law does not entitle them to a paid day off – because it’s not a public holiday – unless you offer one in their employment agreement.

Easter Monday

 

  

As Easter Monday is not a Restricted Trading Day, the usual public holiday rules should apply, including:

  • If it’s not in their employment agreement that they must work on the public holiday and it’s not a normal working day for them, then you can’t make that employee work.
  • If your employee normally works on a Monday, and you need them to work on Easter Monday, the law entitles them to one and a half times their usual rate for each and every hour worked and an alternative day off.
  • If your employee does not usually work on a Monday, but they work on Easter Monday, the law entitles them to one and a half times their usual rate for each and every hour worked but no alternative holiday.
  • If your business remains closed and it would otherwise be a normal working day for an employee, you only need to pay them their normal daily pay and the day off.

ANZAC Day

 

  

This year ANZAC Day falls on Sunday 25 April, which means the ANZAC public holiday will be “Mondayised” and transferred to Monday 26 April. Unless your employees usually work on a Sunday, most employees will observe the holiday on Monday.

Remember that public holiday benefits will only apply for one day. Either Sunday or Monday dependant on your employees’ ordinary workday.

As above, the public holiday entitlements for ANZAC Day include:

  • If your employee works on either Sunday or Monday, and it’s their normal working day, they must receive time and a half plus an alternative day off.
  • If your employee works on either Sunday or Monday for ANZAC Day when they wouldn’t normally work on that day, they should receive time and a half but no alternative day off.
  • If your business remains closed and it would otherwise be a normal working day for an employee, you only need to pay them their normal daily pay and the day off.

For more advice on managing public holiday entitlements including, alternative day-offs and Mondayisation under the Holidays Act 2003, head to this go-to HR guide on public holidays.

Compliance is our strength and we love helping others achieve it. With the resources available in enableHR, you’ll have everything you need to be 100% compliant when managing your people over the Easter and ANZAC Day holidays, such as up-to-date employment agreements, leave policies and more.

See enableHR in action today! Contact us to learn more about how we can help your business get compliance right – all the time.