Your attention is drawn to the following provisions, which are to apply over the Christmas and New Year period 2000/2001.

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:

Monday 25 December 2000 Christmas Day
Tuesday 26 December 2000 Boxing Day
Monday 1 January 2001 New Year's Day

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)).

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 27 December, Thursday 28 December and Friday 29 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 another 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.

For the 2000 Christmas and New Year season, the concessional leave may be granted to employees on the afternoon of Friday 22 December 2000 or Friday 29 December 2000 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 22 December 2000. The Department may, under these circumstances, grant concessional leave within one month of the Christmas/New Year period (refer section 6-6.2.8 of the Personal Handbook December 1999 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.

A. Smith
A/Director-General