The AiGroup has lodged an application with Fair Work Australia, seeking to remove the obligation to pay penalty rates on Christmas, Boxing and New Year’s Days, currently guaranteed by the National Employment Standards.

The employer lobby group made the application this week, claiming the paying penalty rates on the traditional public holidays was ‘double dipping’, because the actual holidays fell on weekends, and weekdays had been declared public holidays.

AMWU National Secretary, Dave Oliver, described the application as a trying to be too tricky.

“The AiGroup are out of touch with the Australian community, who expect that if you have to work and be away from your family on a day like Christmas day, you deserve compensation.”

“Just because this year Christmas and Boxing Day are Saturday/Sunday this year, doesn’t mean they aren’t special days for families to be together.”

AiG head, Heather Ridout, said in a statement that employer confusion about which days attracted penalty rates was a good reason to cancel penalty rates on the traditional holidays. She warned the situation could potentially cause ‘chaos’.

The AMWU will ask FWA to avoid this ‘chaos’ with a simple ruling that penalty rates should be paid for all public holidays over the christmas and new year period.

Fair Work Australia has agreed to hear the matter on November 24.