With the announcement of the memorial public holiday for Queen Elizabeth II on September 22, you might be wondering if a bonus day off work is in your future.

Prime Minster Anthony Albanese declared the one-off holiday to "allow people to pay their respects for the passing of Queen Elizabeth".

Industry groups are worried the timing will make things difficult for businesses and the experts we spoke to said the short notice could complicate it for workers too.

Andrew Stewart is an employment law expert with the University of Adelaide.

Before we make any plans, he says the states and territories need to officially proclaim the holiday.

"The Federal Government can't declare a public holiday - it's a matter for the states and territories," Professor Stewart says.

Mr Albanese has said he consulted with all the states and territories about the day.

Do employers have to give employees the day off?

If the public holiday is gazetted by your state or territory, it will be treated like any other.

According to the Fair Work Act, which most Australian workers are covered by, employers have to recognise public holidays, says Professor Stewart. (Check if you're covered by the Fair Work Act.)

"The basic rule is, yes, your employer has to observe the public holiday. Unless they reasonably request you to work on the public holiday, and you don't have a reasonable excuse to say no," Professor Stewart says.

He says it's not unusual for essential services, as well as businesses like...

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