Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day

The Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day Bill has passed its Third Reading and will come into force by the end of this week.  The Bill provides the legislative framework to support the Government’s announcement of a public holiday to commemorate the death, and acknowledge the service, of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Bill creates an additional, one-off, public holiday on Monday, 26 September 2022.  The day is to be known as Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day.

Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day follows all the ‘normal’ rules of a public holiday.  As a reminder, this means:

• An employee can only be required to work on this day if they have agreed (either in their employment agreement or specifically); and

• If they are required to work on this day, they must be paid for the hours worked on the public holiday at the rate of time and a half of their relevant daily pay, calculated on an hourly basis. This applies to salaried or waged employees.

• If the day would otherwise be a working day for the employee, and they are required to work on the public holiday, they must, in addition to being paid at the rate of time and a half, also receive a paid alternative holiday (day in lieu) to be taken at another time.

• If the day would otherwise be a working day for the employee, and they are not required to work, they must be paid their relevant daily pay for that day.

As always, the public holiday entitlements can be difficult to apply for some working situations and arrangements.  Given that this particular public holiday is unexpected, there may be additional complications.  If you need any assistance with a particular scenario, please do not hesitate to contact us.