Public holiday entitlements sit in Part V of the Employment Act (Chapter 373), not in the hours provisions, and the key section is 86.
Section 86(1) — the entitlement
(a) if required to work on that holiday — be paid his usual wages for that day as if it had not been a public holiday, and in addition be paid in accordance with this Act for the time worked; or
(b) if not required to work on that holiday — be paid his usual wages for that day as if he had worked and it had not been a public holiday.
| Situation | Payment |
|---|---|
| Not required to work | Usual wages for the day |
| Required to work | Usual wages for the day plus the section 52(2)(b) hourly rate for the time worked |
| Good Friday or Christmas Day worked | As above plus equivalent time off within seven days — s 56 |
| Employer terminates you the day before | Wages you would have received if you had worked the holiday — s 86(3) |
The addition in paragraph (a) is the overtime payment: under the section 48 definition, all time worked on a public holiday by an employee not on shift work is overtime, and section 52(2)(b) fixes the rate at the hourly rate — on top of the holiday pay, not instead of it.
Section 74 — which day counts as “immediately preceding”
For the purposes of Part V, when determining the day immediately preceding a public holiday, a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday immediately preceding that public holiday shall not be taken into account.
So you look back past weekends and other holidays to the last ordinary day. Two consequences:
- For a Monday public holiday, the day immediately preceding is the Friday.
- Over a run of holidays — Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday — the relevant day is the Thursday before Good Friday.
Read section 74 with section 86(3): where an employer terminates the employment of an employee (other than a casual or piece-rate employee) on the day immediately preceding a public holiday, the employer shall pay the wages the employee would have received if he had worked on that public holiday and it had not been a public holiday.
Because of section 74, a termination on the Thursday before Easter is a termination on the day immediately preceding a public holiday. Include it in your final pay calculation.
Section 86(2) — who is excluded
Section 86(1)(b) — payment when not required to work — does not apply to a casual employee or a piece-rate employee.
The exclusion is limited to paragraph (b). A casual or piece-rate employee who does work on a public holiday is not taken outside paragraph (a).
And a “casual” who has worked more than six days in a month for the same employer is deemed an oral contract employee under section 10(1) — and is therefore no longer a casual for the purposes of section 86(2).
Section 56 — Good Friday and Christmas Day
Where an employee works on Good Friday or Christmas Day, he shall, in addition to the overtime payment, be allowed time off during normal working hours at least equivalent to the time worked — to be given within seven days after the day the overtime was worked.
So those two days attract pay and time off. The time off is a rest period for the purposes of section 49(5), which means the employee cannot be placed on stand-by duty during it. And under section 49(4) it is in addition to the ordinary meal, rest and weekly rest periods.
Public holidays falling in your leave
Where a public holiday falls within an employee’s period of paid recreation leave and is observed on a day that would have been an ordinary working day had he not been on leave, one extra ordinary working day shall be added to the leave period for each such public holiday.
Leave is not consumed by a public holiday. Conversely, section 66(2) provides that sick leave pay is not payable on a rest day or public holiday to which the employee is entitled under the Act, or on a day of paid recreation leave — you are not paid twice for the same day.
Overtime on a public holiday requires agreement
Under section 51(2), overtime to be worked on a Sunday or a public holiday must be by agreement between employer and employee, or between their registered industrial organisations. Since all time worked on a public holiday is overtime by definition, the employer cannot simply require the day to be worked.
Checklist
- Identify the day immediately preceding the holiday using the section 74 rule — skip Saturdays, Sundays and other holidays.
- Confirm you were in employment on that day.
- If you did not work, expect usual wages for the holiday (unless you are a casual or piece-rate employee).
- If you worked, expect usual wages plus the hourly rate for the time worked.
- For Good Friday or Christmas Day, claim the equivalent time off within seven days as well.
- If leave included a public holiday, claim the extra day under section 61(1).
- If you were terminated the day before a holiday, claim the section 86(3) payment.
- Check the pay statement — holiday and overtime amounts must be shown.
Sources
- Employment Act (Chapter 373) — ss 10, 48, 49, 51, 52, 56, 61, 66, 74, 82, 86
- Industrial Relations Act — PacLII 1986 Revised Edition
- Mamugoba v New Britain Palm Oil Ltd [2024] PGNC 419; N11082
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Employment Act (Chapter 373) and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.