Government Returns To Pre Bill 148 Public Holiday Pay Formula

As previously reported in November and March, Bill 148, "The Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017", introduced many significant changes to employment standards and labour relations legislation. One very controversial change, and a change that increased payroll costs for many employers, was the introduction of a new public holiday pay formula which sought to guarantee a day's pay to employees on a public holiday so long as they worked within the pay period preceding the holiday. Contrast this with the old averaging formula which took the previous 4 weeks' wages and divided that figure by 20 to determine public holiday pay. The Bill 148 formula was beneficial to many part-time employees who would generally receive a regular day's pay, instead of a fraction as determined by the old averaging formula.