How to pay staff for public holidays in RosterElf

This article explains how to pay staff for a public holiday in RosterElf. You may need to pay employees differently depending on whether they worked or did not work on a public holiday. This includes paying regular hours for time not worked or applying public holiday penalty rates when they do work. Understanding how award interpretation works in RosterElf can help you configure these settings correctly.

Managing public holiday pay correctly ensures your payroll is accurate and compliant. It helps you avoid underpaying or overpaying staff while keeping clear records of how each shift was processed. This is especially important for managers or salaried staff who may not work on the day but are still entitled to payment. Before setting this up, make sure you have configured your public holidays in RosterElf for your site.

RosterElf allows you to manage both scenarios using positions, pay templates, and payroll settings. You can create a dedicated position for public holidays not worked or apply public holiday rules for worked shifts. Following this guide will help you set up both scenarios and process payroll with confidence.

1. Pay staff for public holiday not worked

This section explains how to pay staff for public holidays when they do not work but still need to be paid their regular hours. You will create a new position, update the pay template, assign it to the staff profile, and roster the shift correctly.

This process ensures the system treats the shift as ordinary hours instead of applying public holiday penalties. It keeps payroll accurate and allows you to clearly track paid public holiday hours. Following these steps will help you pay staff correctly without affecting other payroll rules.

1.1 Create public holiday position

1.1.1 Open RosterElf.

1.1.2 Select the Positions tab.

1.1.3 Click the plus (+) icon.

1.1.4 Enter the name Public Holiday Not Worked.

1.1.5 Set a colour for the position.

1.1.6 Assign all relevant staff.

1.1.7 Click Save.

1.2 Update pay template for public holiday

1.2.1 Open Settings.

1.2.2 Select Payroll.

1.2.3 Find the staff member's pay template.

1.2.4 Click Duplicate.

1.2.5 Rename the template.

1.2.6 Set the public holiday item to Ordinary Hours.

1.2.7 Save the template.

1.3 Assign pay template to staff

1.3.1 Open the Staff tab.

1.3.2 Select the staff member.

1.3.3 Click Payroll.

1.3.4 Enable Apply award by position worked.

1.3.5 Assign the new template to Public Holiday Not Worked.

1.3.6 Save changes.

1.4 Roster public holiday shift

1.4.1 Open the Roster.

1.4.2 Select the public holiday date.

1.4.3 Add a shift under Public Holiday Not Worked.

1.4.4 Enter the regular hours.

1.4.5 Click Publish.

1.5 Process payroll for public holiday

1.5.1 Open Payroll.

1.5.2 Select the public holiday date.

1.5.3 Locate the rostered shift.

1.5.4 Approve the shift under rostered hours.

2. Pay staff for public holiday worked

This section explains how to pay staff for a public holiday when they work and should receive public holiday rates. You will check the pay template to ensure the correct rule is applied and roster the shift as normal.

This process ensures staff are paid the correct penalty rates for working on a public holiday. It also keeps payroll consistent and aligned with your award or agreement. Following these steps will help you confirm the correct settings and process payroll without errors.

2.1 Apply public holiday rule to template

2.1.1 Open Settings.

2.1.2 Select Payroll.

2.1.3 Open the staff pay template.

2.1.4 Confirm a public holiday rule is applied.

2.1.5 Save if changes are required.

2.2 Roster staff on public holiday

2.2.1 Open the Roster.

2.2.2 Select the public holiday date.

2.2.3 Add the staff member to a shift.

2.2.4 Enter their working hours.

2.2.5 Click Publish.

2.3 Process payroll for worked public holiday

2.3.1 Open Payroll.

2.3.2 Select the public holiday date.

2.3.3 Review the shift with public holiday rates.

2.3.4 Approve the shift.

For further help, visit our support centre or contact our support team.

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