Getting the balance right:

A proposal on holidays in Queensland

Paper iNo.:

Dale: \SMember

Tabled lub led , by leave

Incorporated, by leave

Remainder incorporated by leave

C le rk at the Table

Queensland Government

Getting the balance right: A proposal on holidays in Queensland

H olidays observe im p o rta n t pub lic occasions like Anzac Day and Austra lia Day bu t they also give w orkers and fa m ilie s a chance to rest and have fun toge ther. They le t us a ll ba lance our w ork and fam ily life better.

W hen the governm ent chooses ho lidays it needs to consider w hat best su its com m unity , fam ily and indus try needs, as welt as w h a t happens in o the r states.

This is w hy the Q ueensland G overnm ent has dec ided to review the spread and a lloca tion o f pu b lic ho lidays in Q ueensland, as w e ll as the arrangem ents fo r s tuden t free days in state schools.

The review w ill be conducted by the D epartm ent o f Justice and A ttorney-G enera l and the D epartm ent o f Education and Training.

The purpose o f th is con su lta tion paper is to provide an op po rtu n ity fo r Q ueenslanders to p rovide in p u t Into the review.

The governm ent is seeking feedback on th ree p roposa ls re la ting to ho lidays in Q ueensland:• spread ing pub lic ho lidays across the year• a lloca ting an extra pu b lic ho liday when C hristm as Day, Boxing Day, o r New Year’s Day fa ll

on a weekend

• expand ing state schoo l Easter ho lidays to tw o weeks.

Have your say

We are in terested in feedback from all Q ueenslanders, and espec ia lly from paren ts and teachers on the p roposa l to change the Easter s ta te schoo l ho lidays.

You are inv ited to have you r say on these p roposa ls by:• com p le ting and re tu rn ing th e ques tio nn a ire a ttached to th is d o cu m e n to r

• com p le ting the on line survey: w w w .q ld .g ov .au /ho lida yp ro po sa l

Please subm it your com pleted survey by 31 October 2011

By post to:G etting the balance righ t: A p roposa l on ho lidays In Q ueensland G overnm ent Liaison and Projects PO Box 15033

Brisbane City East 4002

Or by fax to:(07) 3237 0102

Or online at:w w w .q ld .g ov .au /ho lida yp ro po sa l

Do you have any questions?

Contact us on: enqu iries .schoo lopera tions@ de ta .q ld .gov.au

G etting th e balance right: A proposal on holidays in Queensland

State school holidays

W hat is proposed?

It is p roposed to extend th e Easter s tate school ho lidays from six weekdays to tw o weeks,

s ta rting in 2012 . This w ill b ring Q ueensland in to line w ith New South W ales, V ic toria and

W estern Austra lia , and m ake s ta te school ho lidays m ore cons is ten t w ith m any non-state

schools in Q ueensland.

It w ill mean th a t s tuden t free days currently a t the start o f term s 2 and 3 and linked to the

re levant Show ho liday, w ill be sh ifted to the Easter schoo l ho lid ay break. By g roup ing these

th ree s tuden t free days tog e the r a t Easter, s tuden ts and teachers w ill gain o n ly one a d d itio n a l

day o f ho lidays to m ake up the fu ll tw o-w eek break.

The s tuden t free day a lloca ted on the th ird M onday o f Term 4 w ill rem ain and con tinue to be

used fo r s ta tew ide m odera tion o f s tuden t w ork.Proposed 201 2 school holiday and student free day placement

jANUARY

S M T W T F S

1 Q 3 A 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 1 8 ^ ^ Q 2 1

22 23 24 2 5 0 ^ 2 8

29 30 31

FEBRUARY

S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29

MARCH

S M T W T F 5

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

APRIL

S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4 5 H Q

8 Q l O 11 12Q 15

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24Q 26 27 28

29 30

MAY

5 M T W T F S

1 2 3 4 5

6 Q 8 9 10 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

SEPTEMBER

S M T W T F S

30 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26 27 28 29

JUNE

S M T W T F S

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

I 0 Q 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

OCTOBER

S M T W T F 5

1 2 3 4 @ 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21Q 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

JULY

S M T W T F S

I 2 3 4 5 Q 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

NOVEMBER

S M T W T F S

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I I 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30

AUGUST

S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 I 4 Q 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31 * B risbane area on ly

DECEMBER

S M T W T F S

30 31 1

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15

16 17 18 19 20 21 22

23 2 4 ^ ^ 0 2 7 28 29

School holidays

| P u b l i c holidays

B Student free day

^ F le x ib le student free day

B Q u e e n ’s birthday holiday date under review

G etting th e balance right: A proposal on holidays in Queensland

Why change the school holidays?

Term 1 usua lly fin ish e s a t Easter. This o ften m eans th a t tha t the firs t term is longer than the

o the r th ree schoo l term s.

M any ch ild ren, espec ia lly in the early years, f ind Term 1 too long and tiring .

• By extend ing the Easter ho lidays from six weekdays to tw o weeks, and ad d in g the days

before or a fte r Easter d e pe nd ing when Easter fa lls , the du ra tion o f the fou r school term s

w ill each be c loser to 10 weeks.

M any parents do no t like the s tuden t free days scattered th ro u g h o u t the year, especia lly a t the

s ta rt o f the academ ic te rm s - they find th is d is rup tive .

• By m oving the s tud en t free days from the beg inn ing o f the school term to Easter we can

send a c lear m essage to s tuden ts , fam ilies and schools th a t the academ ic term is s ta rting

in earnest.

Fam ilies and em ployers may a lso be ne fit from an extended ho liday at Easter instead o f single

s tuden t free days th ro u g h o u t the year.

• This may he lp paren ts plan fo r ch ildcare or ho liday arrangem ents.

• O pp ortun ities fo r fam ilie s to take a ho liday w ith in a tw o-w eek Easter break m ay m ake it

easier to access accom m odation across th is season.

We recognise th a t som e fa m ilie s may experience d iff ic u lty in o b ta in in g childcare

arrangem ents.

There may a lso be o the r m em bers o f the com m un ity im pacted such as educa tion -re la ted

businesses, ho liday and a fte r schoo l hours care opera tors and bus opera tors.

W hat does this m ean fo r non-state schools?

This p roposa l does not a ffec t non-state schools, w h ich se t th e ir own ho lidays. M any currently

provide a tw o-w eek h o lid ay over Easter, so fam ilies w ith s tuden ts in bo th state and non-state

schools may find the p roposa l he lps to be tte r a lign th e ir Easter ho lidays.

W hat does this m ean fo r o ur state school teachers?

The Q ueensland G overnm ent recognises th a t teachers take resp o n s ib ility fo r a great

p ropo rtion o f th e ir own p ro fess iona l deve lopm ent. This in c ludes un ive rs ity s tudy, pro fessiona l

deve lopm ent w orkshops a fte r hours, s tud y tou rs and o the r ac tiv ities to bu ild pro fessiona l

capacity.

But there is a lso a need to prov ide p ro fess iona l deve lopm ent th rough s tuden t free days and

under these p roposa ls the re w ill s t ill be s ix s tud en t free days per year.

These days may be organ ised by schools and a ttended by teachers du rin g any s tuden t school

ho liday period o r a t o th e r tim es ou ts ide school hours. This can be a loca l decis ion a t the

school level. Because these s tuden t free days w ill be taken in school ho lidays, fam ilies w o n ’t

be affected.

G etting the balance right: A proposal on ho lidays in Queensland

How will student free days change?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?PROPOSEDTeachers now work on these s tuden t free days

Teachers start Term 1 two days before students return to school.

The two days before the start of Term 1

No change

The first day of Term 2

The first day of Term 3

One local day, usually next to Show holiday

Teachers w ill now work on:

• each of the last days of the Easter, Spring and Winter student holiday periods; or

• three days as decided at the local level, in consultation with the school community.

Students have two weeks holiday at Easter, instead of student free days in terms 2 and 3 and the student free day next to the local show.

Because teachers w ill undertake the three student free days while students are on holidays, these days w ill not affect families.

The third Monday in Term A

No change Students do not attend school on this day.

Teachers use this day for statewide moderation of student work.

Teachers are encouraged to prov ide feedback on these proposed changes.

W hat do you think?

Do you agree w ith the reallocation of the student free days?

□ Yes □ No

If yes, w hat are your reasons for supporting th is change?(You may tick more than one box)

□ The extended Easter ho lidays w ou ld be a welcom e break fo r students.

□ The extended Easter ho lidays w ou ld provide a chance fo r my fam ily to plan a holiday.

□ I prefer a con tinuous b lock o f ho lidays in Easter to “ o n e -o ff’ s tuden t free days th roughou t the year.

□ Childcare is easier to organise fo ra b lock period o f tim e rather than “ one-o ff” student free days.

□ This arrangem ent w ill provide benefits fo r my business.

O ther reasons

You may w ish to s ta te o th e r reasons fo r supporting th is proposed change.

If no, w hat are your reasons for not supporting th is change?(You may tick more than one box)

□ I d o n ’t agree w ith the a lloca tion o f an extra ho liday fo r s tudents

□ I d o n ’t agree w ith the a lloca tion o f an extra ho lid ay fo r teachers

□ 1 w o u ld find it d if f ic u lt to organ ise ch ildca re fo r an extra fou r days after or be fore Easter

□ I am happy w ith the current o rgan isa tion o f s tuden t free days

□ This arrangem ent w ill have an adverse im pact on my business

O ther reasons

You may w ish to s tate o th e r reasons fo r not supporting th is proposed change.

G etting the balance right: A proposal on holidays In Queensland

Public holidays

The m a jority o f Q ueens land ’ s pu b lic ho lidays curren tly fa ll w ith in the firs t h a lf o f the year w ith

a p a rticu la r concen tra tion from March to June. There are no sta tew ide pub lic ho lidays between

m id-June and la te Decem ber and Q ueensland is the on ly s tate In A ustra lia w here th is is the

case.

W hile the Q ueensland G overnm ent is responsib le fo r s e ttin g the dates fo r a ll s ta tew ide pub lic

ho lidays, there are on ly tw o - Labour Day and the Q ueen’s b irthday - w h ich we th in k have the

p o ten tia l to be changed because the o thers are based around annua l ho lidays such as Easter,

Christm as and New Year’ s Day.

Labour Day has specia l s ign ificance fo r Q ueensland because o f its links to events in the

la bo u r m ovem ent o f the la te n ine teen th century. One o f the firs t Labour Day processions in

the w orld was in Barca ld ine on 1 M ay 1891 and the pub lic ho liday has been ce lebrated in

Q ueensland on the firs t M onday in May since 1901. Labour Day is ce lebra ted by w orkers

across the state and M ay 1 is deep ly ingra ined in Q ueensland’s h is to ry as a day to recognise

w orkers ’ rights.

In contrast the Q ueen’s b irth d a y pu b lic ho liday orig ina ted in 1912 to observe the b irthday

o f K ing George V o n 3 June. Over the years Q ueensland, a long w ith m ost o the r sta tes, has

con tinued to observe the Q ueen’ s b irth da y in June even though the actua l b irth da y o f Queen

E lizabeth 11 is 21 A pril. In W estern A ustra lia th e Queen’ s b irth da y pu b lic ho liday is he ld in

e ith e r S eptem ber o r O ctober. The Q ueen’s b irthday is observed as a m ark o f respect to the

sovereign bu t is no t w id e ly ce lebra ted in com m un ity events like o th e r pu b lic ho lidays.

For these reasons, it is like ly th a t the Q ueen’s b irthday ho liday w ou ld be re located w ith less

d is rup tion to current com m un ity events and ce lebrations than w ou ld be the case w ith a

re location o f the Labor Day p u b lic ho liday.

W hat is proposed?

It is proposed to m ove the Q ueen’s b irth da y pub lic ho lid ay in Q ueensland to the second

h a lf o f the year from 20 12 , id e a lly to S ep tem ber or October. In o rder to avo id the Septem ber

schoo l ho lidays, a day in O ctober w o u ld seem the best op tion .

Why change the Q ueen ’s b irthday holiday?

The advantages o f obse rv ing a pu b lic ho lid ay in the second h a lf o f the year inc lude:

• It w ill spread the ce leb ra tion o f pu b lic ho lidays th rou gh ou t th e year instead o f the current

concen tra tion o f p u b lic ho lidays betw een March and June. This w o u ld g ive som e ad d itiona l

resp ite and rest to w orkers du rin g the second h a lf o f the year.

• It w ou ld lessen the d is ru p tio n s to p roduction and services fo r business and industry

resu lting from the concen tra tion o f pu b lic h o lid a y s /lo n g w eekends o ften fa llin g in qu ick

succession in the f irs t h a lf o f the year.

G etting th e balance right: A proposal on holidays in Queensland

W h a t do you th ink?

Do you agree w ith moving the Q ueen’s birthday public holiday from June to the second half of the year?

□ Yes □ No

If yes, do you agree to move the Q ueen’s birthday public holiday to a M onday inOctober each year?

□ Yes □ No I f no, w h en w o u ld you prefer?

W e e k e n d p ub lic h o lid a y s

Some ho lidays may fa ll on a w eekend. Under the Q ueensland Holidays Act 1983 , when th is

s itua tion occurs, the Q ueensland G overnm ent can move th e p u b lic ho lid ay to the fo llow ing w eek

- usua lly on the fo llo w in g M onday.

When th is happens, the o rig in a l da te on the weekend ceases to be a pu b lic ho liday.

On pub lic ho lidays workers are en titled to e ither a pa id day o ff or, if they w ork, they receive penalty

rates as prescribed by the relevant award o r agreement. In instances where a substitu te ho liday

is declared on the fo llow ing M onday, peop le w ho are rostered to w ork on the da te o f the orig ina l

ho liday are not paid pena lty rates, w h ile those who w ork on the M onday are.

W h at is p ro po sed?

It is proposed th a t when Christm as Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day fa ll on a weekend, a pub lic

ho liday is declared fo r bo th the actua l date o f the ho liday as w e ll as an a d d itio n a l pub lic ho liday

in the fo llow ing week.

This w ou ld b ring Q ueens land ’ s leg is la tion in line w ith o the r states. A llow ing fo r an a d d itiona l

pub lic ho liday w hen the actua l da te o f the ho liday fa lls on the w eekend is pa rt o f the pub lic

ho liday leg is la tion in New South W ales, V ic toria , South A ustra lia and W estern Austra lia .

W hy change?

The m ajor reason fo r cons ide ra tion o f the ap po in tm en t o f a d d itio n a l pub lic ho lidays is to

m a in ta in cons is ten t trea tm e n t and e n titlem e n ts fo r the greatest num ber o f Q ueensland workers.

This new system w ou ld mean th a t w orkers w ho w ork M onday to Friday and those w ho work

w eekends have equa l access to the pu b lic ho liday and the pu b lic ho liday pena lty paym ents.

Such arrangem ents may lead to increased labour costs fo r bus inesses th a t opera te over seven

days due to the paym ent o f pena lty rates fo r w ork perform ed on bo th the actual weekend pub lic

ho liday and the a d d itio n a l w eekday pu b lic ho liday. We are seeking the view s o f bo th em ployers

and em ployees in th is con su lta tion process.

G etting th e balance right: A proposal on holidays in Queensland

EXAMPLE

Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. The public holiday w ill be on the following Monday.

NOW PROPOSED

Worker One

Works on Sunday 25December (Christmas Day).

Will not receive public holiday penalty rates for Sunday 25 December.

Will have the public holiday on Monday or if rostered to work on Monday w ill receive public holiday penalty rates.

Will receive public holiday penalty rates for work on 25 December.

Will have the public holiday on Monday or if rostered to work on Monday w ill receive public holiday penalty rates.

Worker Two

Works from Monday - Friday with no weekend rosters

Will receive the public holiday on full pay for the Monday.

No difference to current arrangements - w ill receive the public holiday on fu ll pay for the Monday.

A lternative proposal

A lte rna tive ly i f no a d d itio n a l p u b lic ho lidays are ap po in ted , it is p roposed th a t all

arrangem ents fo r a p p o in tin g s u b s titu te days fo r Christm as Day, Boxing Day or New Year’ s Day,

when they fa ll on a w eekend, shou ld be au tom atic and fo rm a lised in the Act, enab ling an

au tom atic sub s titu te p u b lic ho lid ay in the fo llow ing week.

W hat do you think?

Do you agree w ith the proposal that, when Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day fail on a w eekend, a public holiday is declared for both the actual date of the holiday and for an additional public holiday In the fo llow ing week?

□ Yes □ No

If no, do you agree that when Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day, fall on a weekend, the substitution arrangem ent for the public holiday in the following week be made automatically?

□ Yes □ No

Do you wish to make any o ther comments?

About you

W hich category best describes you? (Please tick a ll boxes th a t ap p ly to you)

Employer

□ Sm all business□ M ed ium business□ Large business

Employee

□ Sm all business□ M edium business

□ Large business

Parent/caregiver

□ Early ch ildhood aged ch ild(ren)□ Primary school aged ch ild(ren)

□ Secondary school aged ch ild(ren)

Educator

□ Early ch ildh oo d educa to r□ Primary schoo l teacher□ Secondary schoo l teacher

□ Academ ic

Student

□ Prim ary school□ Secondary school

□ O ther

□ C om m unity m em ber

□ O ther (please specify):

G etting the balance right: A proposal on holidays in Queensland

Please subm it your com pleted survey by 31 October 2011

By post to:G etting the ba lance righ t: A p roposa l on ho lidays in Q ueensland

G overnm ent Liaison and Projects

PO Box 15033

B risbane City East 4002

Or by fax to:(07) 32 37 0102

Or online at:w w w .q ld .g ov .au /ho lida yp ro po sa l

Do you have any questions?Contact us on: enqu iries .schoo iopera tions@ de ta .q ld .gov.au

G etting the balance right: A proposal on holidays in Queensland