Worked Christmas Day in Hospitality — What Am I Owed?
Last updated: March 2026 · MA000009
You're owed 2.25 times your ordinary rate. Christmas Day is a national public holiday, and the Hospitality Award specifies a public holiday rate of 2.25× the base rate for both permanent and casual employees. If you were paid your ordinary rate — or even double time — you were underpaid.
If you worked Christmas Day in any hospitality venue and weren't paid at 2.25× — this applies to you.
The rule
Under the Hospitality Award (MA000009), public holidays — including Christmas Day — must be paid at 2.25× the ordinary rate for adult employees.
For casual employees, this is applied to the casual base rate (which already includes the 25% loading). See the casual employees guide for details.
Christmas Day is also sometimes a Saturday or Sunday. When Christmas Day falls on a weekend, it is still treated as a public holiday — the public holiday rate (2.25×) applies, not the Saturday/Sunday rate.
What you should be paid
Christmas Day rates by level (adult):
- Level 1: $0.00/hr
- Level 2: $0.00/hr
- Level 3: $0.00/hr
- Level 4: $0.00/hr
- Level 5: $0.00/hr
Rates effective 1 July 2025. Based on the Fair Work Commission pay guide for MA000009.
Example: 8-hour Christmas Day shift, Level 2 casual = 8 × $0.00 = $0.00
If you received significantly less than this, Check your Christmas Day pay →
What this costs you
The difference between an ordinary casual rate and the public holiday rate at Level 2 is over $25/hr. On an 8-hour Christmas Day shift, that gap is over $200 in a single day. If you've worked multiple public holidays on the wrong rate, the total is often in the hundreds to thousands of dollars.
What to check on your payslip
- Does a public holiday rate line appear for your Christmas Day shift?
- Is the rate 2.25× your ordinary rate — not 1.5× or 2×?
- If you worked on Christmas Day last year, is the rate shown the correct 2025–26 figure?
Frequently asked questions
I wasn't rostered on Christmas Day but the venue was open — do I still get anything?
If you're a permanent employee and Christmas Day would have been a normal working day for you, you're entitled to a paid day off instead.
I was paid "double time" — is that right?
No — the Hospitality Award specifies 2.25×, not 2×. Double time is technically underpayment on Christmas Day. The difference is real money on an 8-hour shift.
My employer said it was just a normal Saturday rate — is that correct?
No. Even when Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, the public holiday rate (2.25×) applies — not the Saturday rate (1.25×).
Don't guess — calculate exactly what Christmas Day should have paid.
Not sure if your Hospitality Award pay is right?
Enter your shifts and find out in 2 minutes. Free, instant, based on official Fair Work rates.
Check my pay nowNo sign-up required
General information only. Verify at fairwork.gov.au.