Attention all businesses! The YourSAy review of public holidays is currently open and accepting submissions until 3 February. This is your opportunity to have your voice heard and provide input on the current public holiday schedule in your state.
The review, conducted by the South Australian government, specifically aims to gather feedback on making Christmas Day a public holiday regardless of what day of the week it falls on. The Holidays Act 1910 (the Act) currently stipulates that Christmas Day is considered a public holiday on all days except Saturday. By changing the Act as suggested in yourSAy, a Saturday Christmas Day will also require public holiday rates to be paid.
The South Australian Business Chamber is providing a submission to this review stating that along with wage increases, rising interest rates and energy costs, this change represents yet another increase to the growing cost of doing business, especially when many are still recovering from lost turnover due to COVID. While we recognise this impact hits on average once every seven years, it is yet another government decision to be borne by business.
Further, a long-standing issue in South Australia is that the Act deems ‘Sunday’ a public holiday. The South Australian Business Chamber will recommend we take this opportunity to remove Sunday from Schedule 2, Part 1 of the Act.
The survey can be accessed on the YourSAy website and submissions are open until 3 February. Make sure to have your say and have a voice in shaping the future of public holidays for your business and community.
