Under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 employers are liable for payment of bank holidays if the employee has worked at least 40 hours in the last 5 weeks before a bank holiday. Part-time employees are not entitled to jobseeker's benefit or allowance in respect of bank holidays where the employer has liability for payment. The Department only pays a customer for a bank holiday if the employer is not liable for payment.
If a bank holiday is included in a week in which a customer submits a casual docket, the Department’s payment system defaults to non-payment for that day as the vast majority of customers would qualify for payment from their employer. However, if a customer is not due payment for a bank holiday from their employer, the Department will pay a jobseeker’s payment for that day. The customer must notify the Department if their employer has no liability for payment.