Employment Minister Bill Shorten urges workers to research their rights to holiday pay this Easter SOME lax employers are dudding their employees over Easter penalty rates with the Federal Government revealing it investigates 1000 complaints of unpaid penalty rates every year. Last year the employment watchdog recouped $450,000 in unpaid penalty rates for 230 employees who had been duded on their public holiday wages. Federal Employment Minister Bill Shorten urged all employers to research what penalty rates applied this Easter break. Mr Shorten said the government wanted to renumerate staff for working "un-family friendly" hours. Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson said some underpayments was due to employers not doing their research. Sometimes it is not having all the information people need. Some people don't realise Easter Saturday is a public holiday and penalty rates apply so we say to employers take the step to make sure you ensure what penalty rates do apply. In Victoria the public holidays are Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday but workers on Sunday will not attract penalty rates like other states. To stay informed of the correct penalty rates for staff, employers can visit the Fair Work website or call a hotline on 13 13 94.