Can Your Boss Force You to Work a Public Holiday?
If you're being told to work on a public holiday, your employer must ask you — not demand it. A Full Federal Court decision in CFMEU v OS MCAP Pty Ltd [2023] confirmed that employers can’t simply roster you on without giving you a real choice.
This has serious implications for thousands of Australian workers, particularly in mining, healthcare, retail, hospitality, and transport, where working public holidays has often been treated as a given. The Court made it clear: unless your boss explicitly requests that you work a public holiday, and gives you the opportunity to reasonably say no, they’re breaching the Fair Work Act.
Section 114 of the Fair Work Act 2009 states that employees are entitled to be absent on public holidays. An employer may make a request to work on a holiday — but the request must be reasonable, and the employee can refuse, provided that refusal is also reasonable. What’s not allowed is an employer just deciding that you'll work, with no discussion or option to decline.
This is what happened in this case. The mining company rostered workers for Christmas Day and Boxing Day without asking them. There was no chance for workers to say no, despite their contracts saying they “may” be required to work on public holidays. The Court said that wasn’t enough. A clause in your contract doesn’t override the law, you still need to be asked. And if you’re not, that could amount to an unlawful requirement.
Even when operational needs make public holiday work essential, like in hospitals or power plants, employers must still follow the right process. That includes giving reasonable notice, explaining why the request is necessary, and genuinely considering any refusal based on personal circumstances.
The takeaway? Your boss can’t assume you’ll work a public holiday. They must formally request, and you can reasonably refuse. If you’re being told to work without that option, especially in writing or via automatic rostering, you may have grounds to challenge it.
