LABOUR DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY 2016 AND TRADING HOURS NATIONAL SUMMARY AS AT MARCH 2016 This fact sheet provides information about the Labour public holiday as observed across the country, including rules about trading hours on this day. QUEENSLAND Labour will be observed in Queensland on Monday, 2 May 2016. All Queensland stores, apart from exempt and independent shops, must be remain closed on Labour 2016. Trading Hours Exempt Shops Exempt shops have no trading restrictions and may trade on Labour. A list of exempt shops is set out below: Antique shop, Art gallery, Aquarium and aquarium accessories shop, Arts and craft shop, Bait and tackle shop, Bookseller s shop, newsagent s shop, railway bookstall, Bread shop, cake shop, pastry shop; Camping equipment shop, Chemist shop; Confectionery shop, Cooked provisions shop where the provisions are cooked or heated on premises immediately before sale, Delicatessen, Fish shop, Funeral director s premises, Hairdresser s, beautician s or barber shop, Ice cream parlour, Licensed premises under the Liquor Act 1992 or the Wine Industry Act 1994, Marine shop, Milk bar, Nursery (plant) shop for selling garden plants and shrubs, seeds, garden and landscaping supplies or equipment and associated products, Pet shop, Photographic shop, Premises in relation to which a pawnbrokers licence under the Pawnbrokers Act 1984 is in force, Restaurant, café,
Flower shop, Fruit shop, vegetable shop, fruit and vegetable shop, Souvenir shop, Sporting goods shop, refreshment shop, Service station, Shop of a class declared by regulation to be a class of exempt shop, Shop for selling motor vehicle spare parts or motorcycle spare parts or both, Soap shop, Temperance beverages shop and Tobacconist s shop. Independent Shops If your shop is not in the list of exempt shops and meets all of the following criteria, it is classified as an independent retail shop : The business is run by an individual, partnership or a proprietary company (does not include a public company or related corporation); There are no more than 20 people, including the owner, engaged in the shop at any one time; There are no more than 60 people engaged by the owner in all shops throughout Queensland at any one time; and The business is not conducted within a non-exempt shop or part thereof. Independent shops have no trading restrictions on this day. If you are unsure of your shops classification, contact the Employment Law Division or refer to the NRA s Trading Hours National Summary fact sheet (available from www.nra.net.au). NEW SOUTH WALES Labour will be observed in New South Wales on. The Labour public holiday is not a restricted shop trading day in New South Wales. VICTORIA Labour will be observed in Victoria on Monday, 14 March 2016. The Labour public holiday is not a restricted shop trading day in Victoria. 2
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY Labour will be observed in the ACT on. The Labour public holiday is not a restricted shop trading day in the ACT. SOUTH AUSTRALIA Labour will be observed in South Australia on. (a) Shops in the Greater Adelaide Shopping District (excluding CBD Tourist Precinct) CLOSED Shops in the CBD Tourist Precinct Trading permitted between 11am to 5pm (c) Shops in Proclaimed Shopping Districts (excluding types of shops listed in (d) below) CLOSED (d) Shops selling hardware, building materials, furniture, floor coverings, motor vehicle parts & accessories Trading permitted between 9am to 5pm Shops outside the Greater Adelaide Shopping District and also outside a Proclaimed Shopping District are exempt and can trade when they choose, including on all public holidays. These areas include: Angaston, Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Gawler, Quorn, Hawker, Murray Bridge, Berri, Mt Barker, Renmark, Waikerie, Jamestown, Loxton, Clare, Victor Harbour and Mt Gambier. Exempt shops (including take away food, newsagents, video shops, and shops with a floor area no greater than 200 square metres) also have no trading restrictions. If you are unsure of whether your shop is exempt or require further information about specified precincts, contact the Employment Law Division or refer to the NRA s Trading Hours National Summary fact sheet (available from www.nra.net.au). WESTERN AUSTRALIA Labour will be observed in Western Australia on Monday, 7 March 2016. 3
(a) General Retail Shops in the Perth Metropolitan Area Monday, 7 March 2016 Trading permitted between 11am to 5pm General Retail Shops (Outside of Perth Metropolitan Area) Monday, 7 March 2016 Trading hours will vary from district to district. Please contact the NRA for more information. Small retail shops (owned by up to six people, operating no more than three retail shops, in which up to 18 people work at any one time AND have obtained a certificate from the Department of Commerce) have no trading restrictions. Special retail shops (including newsagencies, pharmacies, video shops and duty free shops) may trade on any day between 6.00am and 11.30pm. No trading restrictions apply to restaurants, cafes, take away food shops or retail shops located in public passenger terminals or stations when services are running. If you are unsure of your shops classification, contact the Employment Law Division or refer to the NRA s Trading Hours National Summary fact sheet (available from www.nra.net.au). TASMANIA Eight Hour will be observed in Tasmania on Monday, 14 March 2016. (a) City of Hobart Monday, 14 March 2016 Trading permitted between 8am to 6pm. Outside of Hobart Monday, 14 March 2016 No restrictions. Trading hours in Tasmania have been deregulated since 1 December 2002, with shops only being required to close on Christmas, Good Friday and ANZAC morning. NORTHERN TERRITORY May will be observed in the Northern Territory on Monday, 2 May 2016. 4
Trading hours for retail stores are not regulated in the Northern Territory. However, individual restrictions may apply to certain shopping centres as set by centre management. The trading hours for the sale of liquor products are regulated. Please contact the Employment Law Division for further information. WHAT PUBLIC HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENTS APPLY TO MY EMPLOYEES? Under the Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2010 ( the Award ) any work performed on any of the days listed as public holidays above are paid at the appropriate public holiday penalty rate. Please refer to the NRA produced wage summaries for the current rates. Under the National Employment Standards ( the NES ), employees are entitled to be absent on a public holiday unless the employer has requested the employee to work and the request is reasonable. An employee can only refuse a reasonable request to work if the employee s refusal is reasonable. Factors that will be considered in determining whether a request or refusal is reasonable are: the nature of the workplace (including its operational requirements) and the nature of the work performed by the employee; the employee s personal circumstances, including family responsibilities; whether the employee could reasonably expect to be requested to work on the public holiday; penalty rates payable; the type of employment full time, part time or casual; amount of notice given of the request to work; and the amount of notice given by an employee in advance in regard to refusing a request to work. Under the NES, if an employee is absent on a day or part-day that is a public holiday, the employer must pay the employee at the employee s base rate of pay for their ordinary hours of work on that day or part day. This provision does not apply to casual employees or employees who are not ordinarily rostered to work that day. Please note that if a public holiday falls on an employee s non-working day, they are not entitled to any public holiday benefits under the Awards or the NES. This is a change to the public holiday entitlements under many of the old NAPSAs and pre-reform awards that often provided a day off in lieu or an extra day s wages under these circumstances. For those employees who employ their employees under a pre-reform certified agreement, AWA, ITEA, workplace agreement or enterprise agreement you will need to refer to the terms of these instruments to determine how these employees need to be paid. For more information Phone: 1800 RETAIL (738 245) Email: law@nra.net.au IMPORTANT INFORMATION The information contained in this fact sheet is accurate at the time of distribution to you. Award conditions and industrial relations laws change regularly, however, and you should ensure that you maintain your copy of this fact sheet in an up to date form. Any revised fact sheets issued will be available at www.nra.net.au. The information contained in this fact sheet is not a substitute for independent professional advice. You should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to your particular circumstances. 5