Question:
We have an employee who was on unpaid leave that included the day that Australia Day was.
As their employer, do we need to pay them for that public holiday?
Answer:
Only those employees who normally be working on a day upon which a public holiday falls will be entitled to be paid for the day.
This will usually be at their base rate of pay for the ordinary hours they would have worked if they had not been absent on the public holiday.
This means that if an employee is on leave without pay or unpaid parental leave, etc over a public holiday, e.g. Australia Day, then they are not entitled to be paid for the public holiday.