A State or Territory law can say that a business can't trade on certain days. These are called restricted trading days.

Restricted trading day on a public holiday

Employees can't be stood down without pay on a public holiday, including when the public holiday is also a restricted trading day.

They're entitled to payment for the ordinary hours they'd normally work on that day.

Restricted trading day that's not a public holiday

Most restricted trading days are public holidays, but there are instances when this is not the case.

For example, 25 December 2021 is a restricted trading day that’s not a public holiday in South Australia.

The Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) allows an employer to validly stand down employees without pay if the requirements under section 524(1) are satisfied. It’s unlikely that a restricted trading day would satisfy the requirements of the FW Act.

If a business is closed on a restricted trading day, employees are generally still entitled to payment for the ordinary hours they’d normally work on that day.

Employers and employees may wish to seek independent advice on their own circumstances.

Business closure - other than a restricted trading day

Sometimes an employer may want to close their business on days that aren’t restricted trading days. This is called a shut down.

Employers may be able to direct their employees to take accrued paid annual leave during a shutdown. For more information see Direction to take annual leave during a shut down.

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