ALL employers operating today (public holiday) have been advised to remunerate their workers in accordance with the provisions of public holiday remuneration under the Employment Relations Act.
“Employers operating are reminded to pay the workers their public holiday pay. However, for workers from the 10 sectors who work during this public holiday, employers are to pay them in accordance with the provisions of the respective Wages Regulations,” Fiji’s Minister for Employment Jone Usamate said in a Government statement issued today.
Mr Usamate clarified that if a worker did not work on this Constitution Day and had worked the normal working day before and normal working day after, then the worker was entitled to public holiday pay.
He said if the employees were unable to attend work before and after the public holiday, their absence should be verified by a medical certificate or any other cause acceptable to the employer.
Mr Usamate also highlighted that the Employment Relations Act stated that a worker must be paid in respect of each public holiday for the number of hours that the worker would normally have worked on that day had it not been a public holiday.
“Workers and employers must clearly understand this and seek clarifications from the ministry if they are unsure of any issues related to their terms and conditions of employment,” he added.
