Your attention is drawn to the following provisions, which are to apply over the Christmas and New Year period 1999/2000.

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:

Saturday 25 December 1999 Christmas Day
Monday 27 December 1999 Boxing Day
Tuesday 28 December 1999 Additional Public Holiday
Friday 31 December 1999 Additional Public Holiday
from 12 noon
Saturday 1 January 2000 New Year's Day
Monday 3 January 2000 Additional Public Holiday

New Year's Eve Half Day Public Holiday
New Year's Eve Friday 31 December 1999 will be a half day public holiday. The holiday in its application is a public holiday from 12 noon. Unlike half day concessional leave, employees are not required to work in the morning and are not required to work half their normal working hours on the day. Employees should not be required to work beyond 12 noon without the payment of appropriate public holiday rates.

Employees on standard time who work on 31 December 1999 up to 12 noon should have all hours that they would have worked after 12 noon credited to them. An application for leave before noon (including if the employee will not be at work at all on the day) should cover all time that the employee would otherwise have worked before 12 noon.

Employees on flexible working hours should have half their normal daily working hours credited to them for the half day public holiday (eg 3½ hours for those working a 35 hour week).

Public Service Holiday
Subject to provisions in enterprise arrangements, employees 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 between Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

The day to be observed as the public service holiday in your agency is to be determined in accordance with the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment 1997) Award (refer clause 11(iv)). Having regard to the additional half day public holiday on Friday 31 December 1999, it will be necessary this year for the public service holiday to be taken on either 29 December 1999 or 30 December 1999.

As in previous years, the New South Wales 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 Wednesday 29 December, Thursday 30 December and the morning of Friday 31 December to provide full service to the public and that no offices are closed for business during this period without your 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 the other full working day in the period.

Unless otherwise provided for in enterprise arrangements:

• Employees directed to work on all working days between Boxing Day and New Year's Day are entitled to be paid overtime at the "public holiday" rate for work performed on the day determined as the public service holiday in accordance with the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment 1997) Award (refer clause 15).
• Shift workers should receive additional leave or additional payment in accordance with Clause 15(ii) of the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment 1997) Award or other applicable enterprise arrangement.
• Part time employees are entitled to be absent on the public service holiday and receive ordinary pay if normally they would have worked on that day. Those who do not normally work on that day are not entitled to compensation.

Concessional Leave
The Premier has in the past, approved a half day concessional leave being granted to employees on either Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve. Having regard to the fact that New Year's Eve this year is already a public holiday from 12 noon it will not be possible for the half day concessional leave to be granted on 31 December 1999.

For the 1999 Christmas and New Year season, the concessional leave may be granted to employees on the afternoon of Friday 24 December 1999 subject to operational requirements. The approval is subject to offices being kept open until normal closing times, with adequate staffing to meet all public requirements.

It is recognised that not all employees will be able to be granted the concessional leave on 24 December 1999. The Department may, under these circumstances, grant concessional leave within one month of the Christmas/New Year period (refer section 6-5.2.8 of the Personal Handbook December 1997 Edition).

To be eligible to receive the concession, an employee must be on duty in the morning and must work half their standard full time daily hours. In those cases where employees work a 35 hour week under a flexible working hours arrangement they must complete 3½ hours duty before they are eligible for the concession. Part time employees should work half their normal working hours for that day and the concession is only available to those part time employees who normally work on the day in question.

Any enquires may be directed to your client contact officer in the Public Sector Management Office.

C Gellatly
Director-General