The public holiday for our National Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth II has implications for employers.

On Sunday 11 September, the Prime Minister declared a one-off national public holiday for Thursday 22 September.

This means businesses must give employees the day off or pay them penalty rates.

You should also consider what arrangements to make and communicate to your employees about

• payroll processing and delays to bank transfers of wages, if you would normally pay employees on Thursday 22 September
• your expectations for the following day (Friday 23 September) because it is likely some employees will want a five-day weekend with the existing WA Queen's Birthday public holiday on Monday 26 September
• disruptions to work schedules and how you will make up for lost time

At time of writing, the public holiday is yet to be officially gazetted in WA but has been confirmed by Premier Mark McGowan on social media.