Navigating Public Holidays & Shutdowns Over Christmas & New Year… What Employers Need To Know In 2025

As the end of the year approaches, many businesses begin planning for the annual Christmas and New Year shutdown. While this period can offer a welcome break for employees and employers alike, it also brings
with it a range of legal obligations that must be carefully managed to ensure compliance with Australian workplace laws.

Recent changes to modern awards and Fair Work legislation mean that employers must be more diligent than ever when preparing for temporary shutdowns and managing public holiday entitlements. This blog outlines what you need to know to stay compliant and support your workforce effectively.

Temporary shutdowns: updated rules for employers

In May 2023, the Fair Work Commission introduced significant changes to 78 modern awards relating to temporary shutdowns. These changes remain in force and are relevant for any business planning to close
over the Christmas/New Year period in 2025.

The most important update is the requirement to provide at least 28 days’ written notice to employees affected by a shutdown. This notice must clearly state the dates of the shutdown and the expectation that employees will take paid annual leave during this period.

For example, if your business intends to shut down from 23 December 2025, employees must be notified no later than 25 November 2025.

The legislation allows employers to direct employees to take paid annual leave during a shutdown, provided the direction is reasonable and complies with the applicable award or enterprise agreement.

However, employers cannot direct employees to take unpaid leave. Unpaid leave may only be taken if the employee agrees to it, and this agreement must be documented in writing.

Managing leave during shutdowns

Not all employees will have sufficient accrued annual leave to cover the shutdown period. In these cases,
employers and employees can explore alternative arrangements.

Examples…

• Annual leave in advance, subject to award or agreement provisions.
• Time off in lieu of overtime worked.
• Long service leave, if eligible.
• Unpaid leave, by mutual agreement.

These arrangements must be confirmed in writing – whether via email, text message or a signed agreement – and retained in the employee’s personnel file.

It’s important to have proactive conversations with employees about their leave balances and preferences well before the shutdown period. This helps avoid last-minute issues and ensures there is clarify for all parties.

New starters and shorter notice periods

If an employee joins your business after the shutdown notice has been issued, you must provide them with the shutdown details as soon as reasonably practicable.

In some cases, a shorter notice period may be agreed upon between the employer and the majority of affected employees. However, this must be a genuine agreement and not imposed unilaterally.

Award-Specific Provisions

While the general 28-day notice rule applies to most modern awards, some awards contain industry-specific provisions. 

For example:

• The Building and Construction General On-Site Award 2020 requires two months’ written notice for shutdowns over Christmas and New Year.
• The Poultry Processing Award 2020 and Hydrocarbons Industry (Upstream) Award 2020 allow for shutdowns related to mechanical maintenance. Employers must review the specific award(s) that apply to their workforce to ensure compliance with any additional requirements.

Public Holidays: Rights and Responsibilities

Public holidays during the festive season include:

• Christmas Day (25 December)
• Boxing Day (26 December)
• New Year’s Day (1 January)

In addition, some states observe part-day public holidays on:

• Christmas Eve (from 6 or 7 pm to midnight) – observed in QLD, NT, and SA.
• New Year’s Eve (from 7 pm to midnight) – observed in NT and SA.

Under the National Employment Standards (NES), full-time and part-time employees are entitled to be absent from work on public holidays and receive payment for their usual hours of work. This entitlement applies whether the holiday is a full day or a part-day.

Employers may request employees to work on a public holiday, but the request must be reasonable, and employees have the right to refuse if their refusal is also reasonable. Factors that determine reasonableness
include the nature of the work, the employee’s personal circumstances, and whether adequate notice was given.

Modern awards and enterprise agreements may also contain provisions relating to public holidays, such as:

• Penalty rates for work performed on public holidays.
• Substitute days, where an employee works on a public holiday but takes another day off in lieu. 

Employers must ensure they understand and apply these provisions correctly.

Best practice tips for employers

To ensure a smooth and compliant shutdown period, Akyra recommends the following:

• Plan ahead: Notify employees of the shutdown at least 28 days in advance.
• Communicate clearly: Discuss leave options with employees early, especially those with low leave
  balances.
• Document everything: Keep written records of all leave agreements, including unpaid leave
  arrangements.
• Review award provisions: Check the specific requirements of the award(s) covering your employees.
• Update internal systems: Ensure HR systems can process leave in advance and unpaid leave
  agreements.
• Manage public holiday rosters:
  • Give employees plenty of notice if they are required to work.
  • Ensure requests to work are reasonable and compliant with the Fair Work Act.
  • Apply penalty rates or substitute day provisions as required.