Your right to request to swap public holidays
Date: 30/11/2023
Did you know? ASU members often have a right to request
swap public holidays for more flexible and inclusive workplaces.
Many
enterprise agreements and awards include a right for employees to ask to work
on a public holiday and take another day as a substitute public holiday
instead.
How does
it work?
You can
request to swap any public holiday. If you don’t celebrate Christmas, you could
ask to work on the Christmas Day public holiday and instead take time off to
celebrate something important to your own cultural or religious background,
such as Lunar New Year.
If you would prefer to work on Melbourne Cup Day or 26
January Australia Day public holidays, you may apply for another day off
instead.
Both you and your employer need to agree on the
substitute day, but only you can initiate the swap.
What
about pay?
You'll earn your normal rate for working the original
holiday, and public holiday rates for your substitute day.
The ASU is
proud to be at the forefront of this push for modern and flexible entitlements
to improve the lives of workers, such as progressive parental leave policies, a
four-day work week, the right to disconnect, and now the right to substitute
public holidays.
Want to know more? Head to our website or get in touch with the ASU team at
[email protected] or on 03 9342 3300.