The Department of Premier and Cabinet has issued Premier’s Memorandum M2019-03 Christmas Closedown 2019-2022 setting out the public sector closedown arrangements over the Christmas and New Year periods for the four years to 2019-23.
The Memorandum shows this year’s closedown beginning Monday, 23 December and ending Friday, 3 January 2020.
The Memorandum says all areas of the government sector not involved in the delivery of front line services were encouraged to shut down over the Christmas/New Year period.
“State Owned Corporations are also encouraged to maximise the taking of recreation leave by staff wherever possible,” the Memorandum says.
“Employees not involved in the delivery of necessary services should be encouraged to take full advantage of the closedown period and managers should also be encouraged to release employees wherever possible,” it says.
“Frontline services are not to be shut down.”
The Memorandum said exemptions should be limited to employees who: have frontline responsibilities; undertaking time critical work with statutory deadlines that can’t be shifted; and working on significant Government priorities that need to be completed.
It said closedown arrangements would vary between agencies.
“Decisions as to which areas are appropriate to be closed down, and the extent of that closedown, are to be made on a case by case basis by the agency head,” the Memorandum says.
“Agencies should also consider utilising temporary assignment provisions to assign employees not on leave to areas where work is continuing during the closedown period.
“Subject to operational requirements and the relevant industrial instrument, agencies should direct employees with excessive leave balances onto leave during the closedown period.”
The Memorandum says employees not entitled to a union picnic day or some other special day (such as the Tuesday after Easter or local holidays) were entitled to a public service holiday.
It said the holiday was to be taken during the period between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
“Employees directed to work on all of the working days between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are entitled to be paid overtime at the ‘public holiday’ rate.”
“Part time employees are entitled to be absent on the public service holiday and receive ordinary pay if they would normally have worked on that day,” the Memorandum says.
The Memorandum M2019-03 can be accessed at this PS News link.
