[File Photo]

Employment Minister, Parveen Kumar says all employers who operate during the public holidays need to remunerate their workers accordingly.

He says any worker who is employed on any of the gazetted public holidays will be entitled to double time.

Kumar says that Saturday the 25th of December is a normal day, and the public holiday for Christmas Day falls on Monday, the 27th of December.

He says Sunday the 26th of December is also a normal day and therefore public holiday for Boxing Day falls on Tuesday, the 28th of December.

The Employment Minister says Saturday the 1st of January 2022 is a normal day, and the public holiday for New Year’s Day falls on Monday, the 3rd of January.

Kumar says the workers must be at work a day before and after the public holiday and if they are unable to do so then they must provide a valid reason or a medical certificate.

The Minister highlighted that Section 67 of the Employment Relations Act 2007 states that a worker must be paid in respect of each public holiday for the number of hours, exclusive of overtime which the worker would normally have worked on that day had it not been a public holiday.

He says if a worker is employed during these public holidays then the worker is entitled to double pay.

He adds the Ministry will continue to ensure that workers are paid their rightful dues this holiday season.