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Easter Weekend 2026: Your guide to paying employees

Public Holidays

2 Apr 2023 (Last updated 4 Mar 2026)

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Each year the Easter weekend represents an opportunity for businesses to attract more consumers and access increased sales depending on their industry.

The Easter holiday period remains one of the busiest of the year for business owners and employers. A long weekend means a time of relaxation and leisure for families. This is good news for business owners and employers who have been battling a cost-of-living crisis, inflation, increased wages, and other growing operational expenses.

If you run a café, or operate in the tourism industry, a public holiday may be your busiest time of year, and you will need all hands-on deck. But you need to know:

  • What do you pay employees?
  • Do they get time off?
  • Can you even ask employees to work on public holidays?

Easter Holidays 2026

If your business is opening over the Easter and ANZAC holidays, you should be aware of the rules around employer obligations, and the ability of shops to trade.

Easter Days Dates
Good Friday 3 April is a public holiday
Easter Saturday 4 April is not a public holiday
Easter Sunday 5 April is not a public holiday
Easter Monday 6 April is a public holiday

ANZAC Day 2026

ANZAC Day this year falls on a Saturday. If an employee would normally work on a Saturday, they are entitled to public holiday rates for that day.

*As ANZAC Day is on a Saturday, if an employee would not normally work on a Saturday, they’re entitled to a public holiday on the following Monday. This is due to Mondayisation entitlements. In this case Monday 27 April 2026.

Asking Employees to Work on Public Holidays

An employee can be made to work if the public holiday is observed on a day the employee would normally work and their employment agreement says they have to work on the public holiday.

If the employee is made to work and it is their otherwise working day, they should be paid the rate of pay of time and a half for the actual hours worked. In addition, the employee will get another paid day off later, also known as a” day in lieu”.

If an employee works a public holiday which is not an otherwise working day, the employee is entitled to be paid time and a half for the actual hours worked and they would not be entitled to a day in lieu.

Roster your employees easily and quickly from your PC, tablet or phone with BrightHR.

Employees don’t have to agree to work on Good Friday, Easter Monday or ANZAC Day, unless:

  • These are days that the employee would have normally worked

  • Their employment contract says they have to work on the public holidays

Easter Trading Rules

Easter trading laws govern that shops cannot open on Good Friday, Easter Sunday or before 1:00pm on ANZAC Day (25 April). However, there are some exceptions to Easter trading hours:

  • Certain shops including dairies, service stations, take-away food service, restaurants, cafes and souvenir stores can open with conditions limiting the goods they can sell, according to the type of store they are. Garden centres can only open on Easter Sunday. Pharmacies can open with no restrictions.

  • Some shops have an area exemption, for example, tourist resorts.

  • Some shops are covered by a city and district council Easter Sunday trading policy.

  • These rules only apply to businesses that are shops as covered by the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990. Other businesses can open during the Easter and ANZAC holidays.

Easter Public Holiday Pay

For public holidays, there are a number of things to work out:

  • On which day the public holiday will be observed for each employee if it’s a public holiday that might be Mondayised (or Tuesdayised).
  • Whether or not the day is an otherwise working day for the employee.
  • Whether or not the employee will be working on the day.
  • How much the employee will be paid for the day.
  • Whether the employee is entitled to an alternative holiday.

Misconception: ‘I already pay above the minimum wage, so I’m already covered for public holiday rates right?

It’s great you pay above the minimum wage, but it doesn’t automatically exempt you from paying public holiday rates. You still have to pay the public holiday rate for an employee who is working a public holiday.

What happens if my employee agrees to work on Easter Sunday?

If the employee agrees to work on Easter Sunday, which is not a public holiday, the employee will only be paid the usual pay rate for working on a Sunday unless the employee and employer agree to a greater rate of pay for this day. The employee will not get an alternative holiday, because Easter Sunday is not a public holiday. If the employee does not work on Easter Sunday, they are not entitled to a paid day.

Keep in mind that there are separate rules for shop employees.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.

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