How to Configure Public Holiday Loading

Guide to splitting a public holiday multiplier into a base-rate line plus a separately coded loading line (e.g. a 2.5x rate exported as base + a 150% loading line) for payroll systems that need the penalty component on its own code

What This Feature Does

Public Holiday Loading changes how a public holiday multiplier is coded, without changing what the worker is paid. Instead of one combined line at the rule's multiplier (e.g. 8h @ 2.5× base), the engine splits the pay into:

a base-rate (1×) line that keeps its ordinary / public-holiday cost code (e.g. PH_ORD × 8h @ base), plus
a parallel loading line at a configurable percentage of the base rate, coded to its own pay item (e.g. PH_LOAD × 8h @ 150% of base).

This is for payroll systems (such as MYOB, KeyPay, and Xero) that need the public holiday penalty component as its own coded amount rather than baked into a combined multiplier rate.

Public Holiday Loading is configured per Rule Group on the group's public holiday rule.

Split, not additive. Unlike Worked Hours Loading and Leave Loading — which add a loading line on top of an unchanged base line — Public Holiday Loading replaces the combined multiplier line with a 1× base line plus the loading line. In Loading mode the loading rate (not the multiplier) determines the premium paid, so switching an existing multiplier rule to Loading cannot double-pay.

When It Applies

Public Holiday Loading is available on any rule group that has a public holiday rate configured. If a rule group has no public holiday rule (for example the interpreted document contained no holiday patterns), the Public Holiday section shows an "Add Rule" button — set the multiplier and, optionally, the Loading configuration to create one. It is off by default (public holiday rules use the Replacement method) and only splits lines once the rule is switched to the Loading application method. Days are recognised as public holidays through your Public Holiday Calendars or the rule's activity/role matching, exactly as before — the loading setting only changes how the matched hours are coded.

Key Concepts

Application Method

The public holiday rule has an Application Method:

Method	Behaviour
Replacement (default)	Public holiday hours produce a single combined line at the rule's multiplier (e.g. `8h @ 2.5× base`). This is the legacy behaviour.
Loading	The pay is split: a base-rate (1×) line that keeps its public-holiday coding, plus a loading line at a percentage of base coded to its own pay item.

Configuration Fields

When the rule is set to Loading, the split is defined by:

Field	Description
Loading rate (% of base)	The penalty portion of the multiplier as a percentage of the base (1×) rate (e.g. `150` for a 2.5× rate — the 1× base plus a 150% penalty). Must be greater than 0.
Loading pay item	The pay item (cost code) the loading line is coded to (e.g. `PH_LOAD`). Required when Loading is selected. Validated against your account when saved, and the pay item's canonical code and description are stored on the line.

How the Loading Is Priced

The loading line is a percentage of the holiday line's own base (1×) rate:

A holiday line priced off the worker's base pays base × loadingRate% per hour on the loading line.
A holiday line priced off a non-standard base (e.g. a role- or level-specific rate) loads off that line's own base (its rate ÷ its multiplier), staying faithful to the rate actually paid.
In Loading mode the configured loading rate — not the rule's multiplier — determines the premium. To match a 2.5× replacement rate, configure a 150% loading rate.

Because the loading line stores its per-hour rate, rate × hours = amount always reconciles with the line total in the review table and exports.

Which Hours Are Loaded

Hour type	Split?
Public holiday hours matched by the group's public holiday rule (date-, activity- or role-based)	Yes
Worked RDO / picnic-day calendar hours	Not exposed in the UI today — only the public holiday rule has a Loading configuration dialog (RDO/picnic-day calendar rules use the same fields if configured in extracted data).
Minimum engagement top-ups, RDO accrual/deduction lines	No — these are not holiday premium lines
Consecutive-shift / shift-spacing premium lines, time-of-day loaded lines	No — their premium is booked under its own rule
Leave hours (including public holidays inside a leave period)	No — see Leave Loading
Other loading lines	No — loadings never stack on each other

How to Configure Public Holiday Loading

Open a pay rate document from the Pay Rate Documents tab
Navigate to the Rule Groups section and find the Public Holiday area
Click the edit (pencil) icon next to the Public Holiday heading
In Application Method, choose Loading
Enter the Loading rate (% of base) (e.g. 150 for a 2.5× rate)
Select the Loading pay item the loading line should be coded to
Click "Save"

Switching the rule back to Replacement clears the loading rate and pay item and restores the single combined line.

Example

An EBA: public holidays paid at 2.5× a $50/h base, with the penalty coded to PH_LOAD. A worker works an 8-hour public holiday shift.

Replacement (default) exports one line:

Public Holiday × 8h @ $125.00 — the combined 2.5× line ($1,000.00)

Loading (rate 150) exports two lines:

Public Holiday × 8h @ $50.00 — the base (1×) line, keeping its PH cost code ($400.00)
Public Holiday Loading (150%) × 8h @ $75.00 — the loading line, coded to PH_LOAD ($600.00)

The total is identical ($1,000.00) and the holiday hours are counted once — the loading line carries the penalty dollars without inflating the reported hours.

How It Interacts with Other Rules

Public Holiday Loading follows the split model of the daily/weekly overtime threshold Loading method, not the additive model of Worked Hours Loading and Leave Loading. The base line keeps its public-holiday cost code, so PH_ORD-style reporting and public holiday hour categorisation are unchanged. Whether public holiday hours contribute to overtime thresholds is controlled by the rule's Counts toward overtime threshold setting, independent of the loading split.

Tips

Derive the rate from the multiplier: the loading rate is the penalty portion — (multiplier − 1) × 100. A 2.5× rate → 150; a 2× rate → 100. The edit dialog shows this hint based on the rule's current multiplier.
Pick a pay item with a description: The loading line's cost-code name column in exports and reports comes from the pay item's description — a pay item with no description renders blank there.
Incomplete config is skipped loudly: if a rule is set to Loading without a rate or pay item, the premium is paid replacement-style and the calculation reasoning records why.
Re-process to apply: Enabling or changing public holiday loading only affects future rate calculations. Already-processed timesheets must be re-processed for the split lines to appear.

What's Next

Return to Rule Groups to configure other rule types
Set up Public Holiday Calendars so holiday dates are recognised
Compare with Worked Hours Loading and Leave Loading for additive loading lines
Configure Cost Code Linking so the loading pay item maps correctly for export