Your attention is drawn to the following provisions which are to apply over the Christmas and New Year period 1996-97.

Public holidays

Pursuant to the Banks.and Bank Holidays Act 1912, the Christmas and New Year public holidays for New South Wales will be observed on the following dates:

Wednesday 25 December 1996 Christmas Day
Thursday 26 December 1996 Boxing Day
Wednesday 1 January 1997 New Year's Day

Public service holiday

Subject to provisions in enterprise agreements, public servants who are not entitled to a union picnic day or some other special day, such as the Tuesday after Easter, are entitled to a public service holiday during the period Friday 27 December 1996 to Tuesday 31 December 1996.

The day to be observed as the public service holiday in your agency is to be determined in accordance with Clause 14 of the Public Sector Management (General) Regulation 1996.

As in previous years, the Government requires full services to the public to be maintained on the day determined as the public service holiday and on the remaining working days during this period. Please ensure that sufficient employees remain on duty on Fliday 27 December, Monday 30 December and Tuesday 31 December 1996 to provide full service to the public and that no offices are closed for business during this period without your personal endorsement.

Employees directed to work on the day determined as the public service holiday in your agency are entitled to be absent from duty on one of the two remaining days in the period.

Unless otherwise provided for in enterprise agreements:

Concessional leave

The Premier has recently approved concessional leave being granted to employees on either Chlistmas Eve or New Year's Eve.

For the 1996 festive season, the concessional leave may be granted to employees either on the afternoon of Tuesday 24 December or Tuesday 31 December 1996 subject to departmental convenience The approval is subject to offices being kept open on each occasion until normal closing times, with adequate staffing to meet all public requirements.

As in the past, the leave will commence at 12 noon for employees working on standard hours. However, in those cases where employees work flexible hours, if full time they must complete 3 1/2 hours duty before they are eligible for the concession, if part time they should work half their normal working hours. In the case of part time employees the concession is only available to those part time employees who normally work on the day in question.

For an employee to be entitled to the concession in the afternoon they must have been on duty on the morning of one of the days in question ie Tuesday 24 December or Tuesday 31 December 1996.

It would be appreciated if appropriate arrangements could be made so far as your agency is concerned.

Any enquiries from personnel employees of your agency concerning the above may be directed to the Client Contact Officer responsible for providing services to your agency.

These provisions are to apply from December 1996 and each successive year unless advised otherwise.

C Gellatly
Director General

Contact: Sue Barr
Telephone: 9228 5744