Your attention is drawn to the following leave provisions, which are to apply over the Christmas and New Year period 2001/2002.

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:

Tuesday 25 December 2001 Christmas Day
Wednesday 26 December 2001 Boxing Day
Tuesday 1 January 2002 New Year's Day

Public Service Holiday
Subject to provisions in enterprise arrangements, public service 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 Thursday 27 December, Friday 28 December and Monday 31 December 2001 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 clauses 92, 93 or 94).
• Shift workers (as defined in the Award) should receive additional leave or additional payment in accordance with Clause 91(f) of the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment 1997) Award or as otherwise provided by an 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 approved a half day concessional leave being granted to public service employees on either Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve on the condition that adequate service to the public is maintained.

For the 2001/2002 Christmas and New Year season, the concessional leave may be granted to employees on the afternoon of Monday 24 December 2001 or Monday 31 December 2001 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. The provisions of section 6-6.2 of the Personnel Handbook should be applied.

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

Supersedes C96-20 and C97-79. Not current