Permanent Secretary for Employment, Productivity, and Industrial Relations, Osea Cawaru, has reminded employers who operate during public holidays to remunerate their workers accordingly.

Cawaru has reminded employers who will be in operation during the Easter holidays on Good Friday, 15 April, Easter Saturday, 16 April, and Easter Monday, 18 April, to remunerate their workers in accordance with the Employment Relations Act (ERA) 2007.

“Employers who are in operation during this gazetted public holiday are reminded to pay the workers their public holiday pay in accordance with Section 67 of the Employment Relations Act 2007,” said Mr Cawaru.

“A worker who works on public holiday will get a single pay for the hours which he or she has worked during the public holiday together with an additional single pay for the public holiday. This simply states that if a worker works on a public holiday, they will get double pay.”

“If a worker does not work during the public holiday and has worked the normal working day before and normal working day after, then the worker is entitled to public holiday pay,” said Mr Cawaru.PS Employment reiterated that if they are unable to attend work before and after the public holiday, their absence should be verified by a medical certificate or any other cause acceptable to the employer and the worker must be paid

Employees and employers must clearly understand this and seek clarifications from the Ministry’s Labour Standard Services if they are unsure of any issues related to their terms and conditions of employment. They must also refer to the relevant amended Wages Regulation and the Employment Relations (National Minimum Wage) (Amendment) Regulation 2022 enforced from 01 April 2022.