Some states have conditions that allow for a portion of the day to be paid at a public holiday rate, to handle this within the system we recommended using the Special rates system. 


PLEASE NOTE: Part-day public holidays cannot be setup within the global calendar in the system settings as detailed in the Adding Public holidays guide this only supports a full day condition. 


Setting up half-day public holidays is a 2-step process

  1. Setting the special rate against the Rate Schedules.
  2. Applying the public holiday penalty for part of a shift


Setting the special rate against the Rate Schedules.

  1. Navigate to Setup > Rate Schedules

  2. Double click on the rate set you need to add the half-day public holiday too. You will need to manually add this to all of the rate schedules if you have more than just the default. If there are none then add a default rate set

  3. Click on the Special Rates tab and then select the Add button

  4. In the new special rate add the following
    1. Name: example - Part-Day PH (Penalty)
    2. Type: Percent
    3. Rate: The correct % for the penalty rate eg 250%

  5. Save the rate set.

  6. Repeat steps 2 - 6 for each rate schedule that you have that requires the change.


PLEASE NOTE: This will only affect employees with an attached rateset. If your employees are missing the added rates then, open the the Pay tab on the Employees Details screen and ensure that a the appropiate Rate set has been assigned to them.



Applying the public holiday penalty for part of a shift

Below are 2 options on how to add the penalty rate for the part of the shift.

  1. Applying Using Rosters
  2. Applying Using Timesheets

Applying Using Rosters

  1. Navigate to the rosters and roster period with the public holiday.

  2. Select the day by clicking on the date at the top of the roster.

  3. From the View tab click on the Timeline with Zoom icon.

  4. For each shift that you need to apply the penalty to right-click and select Rates > Pre-Defined (part shift) > Part-Day PH (Penalty) (Percent) - or whatever you named it.

  5. This then creates a section on the shift with the special rate that is applied. Click and drag this to the end of the shift.

  6. Once the special rate has been added to the end of the shift hover on the start of the special rate and drag it to the start time on the public holiday (19:00).

  7. Hovering back over the shift will show you the rate that you have applies and for how long.

  8. Save the rosters and when you enter into Payroll this will apply the 205% penalty.

Applying Using Timesheets

  1. Navigate to the Timesheets.

  2. Select the employee to who you need to add the Public holiday.

  3. Double click on the Timesheet that you need to apply the special rate to.

  4. Click on the Rates icon at the top of the timesheet details window.

  5. Click on the Add button.

  6. Select Add using custom times.

  7. Edit the Start time (19:00 in this example) that the penalty will begin.

  8. Select the Special Rate and the Type and Rate will be automatically added.

  9. Click on Save.

  10. Close the timesheet and repeat for each employees timesheet