Christmas Shutdown Notice and Leave Directions for Queensland Employers in 2026

Key Takeaways

• Most modern awards require 28 days' written notice of a shutdown, or a shorter period the majority of affected staff agree to; a few keep a longer period.
• A direction can only cover accrued paid annual leave, must be in writing and must be reasonable.
• An employee short of leave can agree in writing to leave in advance or leave without pay; the award gives no power to send anyone home unpaid.
• Award-free staff can be required to take paid leave under s 94(5) of the Fair Work Act if the requirement is reasonable.
• Queensland has four public holidays in the period, including Monday 28 December, and a part-day holiday from 6 pm on 24 December; a public holiday inside annual leave is paid at base rate and not deducted from the balance.

1. 1.What does the award shutdown term require?
2. 2.What if an employee does not have enough leave?
3. 3.What about staff no award or agreement covers?
4. 4.Which public holidays does Queensland observe over the period?
5. 5.What are staff who work a public holiday paid?
6. 6.What about casual staff?
7. 7.What dates does a 24 December shutdown set?
8. 8.Where your award and your roster take over
9. 9.Frequently Asked Questions

A business that closes from Thursday 24 December 2026 is running a shutdown, and for most award-covered employers the rules come from the award, not the contract. Since 1 May 2023 the shutdown term in 78 modern awards has required written notice, confined any direction to accrued paid leave and left no power to direct unpaid leave. This guide from Astris Law in Brisbane covers that term, what the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) says for award-free staff and Queensland's public holidays over the period.

What does the award shutdown term require?

A Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission settled a model shutdown term in 2022 (4 Yearly Review of Modern Awards: Plain Language, Shutdown Provisions [2022] FWCFB 161; 4 Yearly Review of Modern Awards: Plain Language, Shutdown Provisions [2022] FWCFB 246) and 78 awards were varied to carry it from 1 May 2023. In the Clerks Private Sector Award 2020 (Clerks Award) it is clause 32.5, made under s 93(3) of the Act, which allows an award term of this kind only where the requirement is reasonable. The clause reads:

(a) Clause 32.5 applies if an employer: (i) intends to shut down all or part of its operation for a particular period (temporary shutdown period); and (ii) wishes to require affected employees to take paid annual leave during that period.

(b) The employer must give the affected employees 28 days' written notice of a temporary shutdown period, or any shorter period agreed between the employer and the majority of relevant employees.

(c) The employer must give written notice of a temporary shutdown period to any employee who is engaged after the notice is given under clause 32.5(b) and who will be affected by that period, as soon as reasonably practicable after the employee is engaged.

(d) The employer may direct the employee to take a period of paid annual leave to which the employee has accrued an entitlement.

(e) A direction by the employer under clause 32.5(d): (i) must be in writing; and (ii) must be reasonable.

(f) An employee may take annual leave in advance during a temporary shutdown period in accordance with an agreement under clause 32.4.

(g) In respect of any part of a temporary shutdown period which is not the subject of a direction under clause 32.5(d), an employer and employee may agree, in writing, for the employee to take leave without pay during that part of the temporary shutdown period.

(h) In determining the amount of paid annual leave to which an employee has accrued an entitlement, any period of paid annual leave taken in advance by the employee, in accordance with an agreement under clause 32.4, to which an entitlement has not been accrued, is to be taken into account.

There is no power to direct unpaid leave. Not every award carries the model term: the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 requires two months' written notice and covers a Christmas and New Year shutdown only, and an award with no shutdown clause gives no power to direct leave for one, which leaves agreement unless an enterprise agreement provides otherwise. Open the annual leave clause of each award that covers your staff before drafting the notice; overlooking award terms is one of the mistakes in our guide to the mistakes that cost Brisbane employers.

What if an employee does not have enough leave?

An employee short of leave may agree in writing to leave in advance or to leave without pay. If they agree to neither, the employer cannot treat the days as unpaid and must find them work or pay them. The reverse also holds: a direction given on short notice without majority agreement, not in writing or sent to someone with no accrued leave is not a valid direction, and the employee, who remains ready to work, is entitled to be paid for the closed days, which is how a shutdown turns into an underpayment claim.

What about staff no award or agreement covers?

For an employee outside any award or enterprise agreement the Act applies directly: under s 94(5) an employer may require paid annual leave to be taken if the requirement is reasonable, and the note to that subsection gives a shutdown between Christmas and New Year as one of its two examples (the other is an excessive leave balance). Otherwise leave is taken by agreement under s 88, and the Fair Work Ombudsman's shutdown guidance adds that a shutdown is not a stand down.

Which public holidays does Queensland observe over the period?

Christmas Day 2026 falls on a Friday and Boxing Day on a Saturday. Since Christmas 2011 the Holidays Act 1983 (Qld), s 2 and the Schedule, has added an extra public holiday when Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Day falls on a weekend, so Monday 28 December is an additional public holiday and Saturday 26 December remains one. The same Act makes Thursday 24 December a part-day public holiday from 6 pm, which matters for evening trade but not for a daytime roster.

A public holiday inside annual leave is not a day of leave: under s 89(1) the employee is taken not to be on leave that day, so it is not deducted from the balance, and under s 116 the employer pays the base rate for the employee's ordinary hours on the day. A Monday to Friday full-time employee is therefore paid for 25 and 28 December and 1 January and nothing for Saturday 26 December because they have no ordinary hours that day. A shutdown from 24 December to 1 January inclusive costs them four days of leave.

What are staff who work a public holiday paid?

An employer may ask an employee to work a public holiday if the request is reasonable, and the employee may refuse if the request is not reasonable or the refusal is reasonable (s 114(2) and (3) of the Act). The rate for that work comes from the penalty rates table of the award covering the employee, which usually sets a higher casual rate inclusive of the loading and may treat shiftworkers and additional or substituted days differently, so read the public holidays clause and the table before the roster is set.

What about casual staff?

Casuals do not accrue annual leave, so the shutdown term has nothing to direct and the employer can simply not roster them, and a casual not rostered on a public holiday is not paid for it because they have no ordinary hours that day. Give casuals the same notice as everyone else and keep a record of it, so there is a contemporaneous answer if anyone later alleges they were left off the roster for a reason the Act prohibits.

What dates does a 24 December shutdown set?

Twenty-eight clear days before Thursday 24 December runs out on Wednesday 25 November 2026. The award does not say how the days are counted, so a notice out by 25 November meets the period on any counting and one on 26 November invites an argument; anything later relies on majority agreement, which should be in writing. Working back from that date:

1. Open the annual leave clause of each award covering your staff and confirm whether it carries the model term, a longer version or none.
2. Fix the dates and the affected employees, and pull each one's accrued leave as it will stand on 24 December.
3. Issue the written notice by 25 November, and give it to any later starter as soon as reasonably practicable.
4. Offer written agreements for leave in advance or without pay to anyone short of leave, then issue the written directions and file a copy of each.
5. Set the public holiday roster, confirm the rates and base-rate holiday payments and tell casuals the dates.

Where your award and your roster take over

Two things decide whether a direction will stand, and neither is on this page: the annual leave clause of the award that actually covers each employee and the roster you mean to run across the four public holidays. A direction that is reasonable for an employee with six weeks accrued can be unreasonable for one with three days, and the same notice can be valid for the office staff and defective for the trades. Which of those applies to your people is a question about your workforce, not about the award, and it needs the award and the leave balances in front of someone. If you would rather settle that before the notice goes out, Jamie Nuich at Astris Law is on (07) 3519 5616; our employment lawyer page describes the firm's work for employers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an employer force staff to take annual leave over Christmas in Queensland?

Only where a power exists: an award-covered employee can be directed in writing to take accrued paid annual leave if the award's shutdown term has been followed and the direction is reasonable, and an award-free employee under s 94(5) of the Act if the requirement is reasonable. Nobody can be directed to take unpaid leave.

Is Monday 28 December 2026 a public holiday in Queensland?

Yes. Because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the Holidays Act 1983 (Qld) adds Monday 28 December as an additional public holiday, and Saturday 26 December remains a public holiday too.

What happens if an employee does not have enough annual leave to cover the shutdown?

The award gives no power to send them home unpaid. The employee can agree in writing to take annual leave in advance or leave without pay. If they agree to neither, the employer must find them work or pay them for the closed days.

Are casual employees paid during a Christmas shutdown?

No. Casuals do not accrue annual leave, so there is nothing to direct and the employer can simply not roster them, and a casual not rostered on a public holiday is not paid for it. Give casuals the same written notice of the shutdown as everyone else and keep a copy.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. While we take reasonable care to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, we make no representations or warranties as to its completeness, currency or reliability. We accept no liability for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from the use of, or reliance on, this website's content. You should always seek professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances before acting on any information in this article. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.