CODE 2, VOL 34, NO 2 : 21 january 2020
Australia Day Public Holiday 2020 – What are you entitled to?
Australia Day (26 January) this year falls on a Sunday.
However, the legislation that sets the rules for public holidays in Queensland – the Holidays Act 1983 – prescribes that when Australia Day falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, the actual day (26 January) is not taken to be a public holiday, but rather, the public holiday is to be observed on the following Monday.
For you and your colleagues, this means –
• if you are rostered to work on Sunday 26 January 2020, it is a normal working day and public holiday entitlements will not apply.
• if you are rostered to work on Monday 27 January 2020, it is a public holiday and public holiday entitlements will apply.
Nothing else about being rostered to work on the Sunday (this year being a normal Sunday) or the Monday (this year being a public holiday) is affected by this occurrence, it is only that a different day is prescribed as the actual public holiday (rather than the traditional date of 26 January).
John Oliver - General Secretary
Authorised by John Oliver General Secretary
United Firefighters' Union of Australia, Union of Employees QLD