Employers rostering staff over Xmas holidays put on notice

BHP knocked back requests from workers who wanted to spend Christmas with their families for various reasons. One wanted to spend the holiday with his ill mother, after his father had died earlier that year. The family was religious and traditionally attended church together. He was made to work regardless, and his mother died a short time later. “He continues to feel guilt and a deep sadness” and has begun drinking to help come to terms with the situation, evidence provided in court said. ‘This decision means employers cannot simply expect employees to work on a public holiday or treat that as a part of an ordinary working pattern.’Lawyer Clancy King Other workers included a single mother, who had to leave her 11- and 15-year-old daughters on Christmas Day and in a desperate move was forced to pay someone from her girls’ drama class $500 to look after them. Other workers described emotional scenes when they had to leave their spouses and kids to work on the holiday. The national employment standards, under which the Mining and Energy Union’s case against BHP was made, apply to all workers regardless of collective agreements, except for some state and government employees.