Public servants looking forward to a Christmas and New Year's break have been told not to hurry back to work too soon.
In fact, bosses at the Australian Taxation Office have suggested to workers they might even consider starting their Christmas holidays half-a-day early.
The word went out to the ATO's 19000 workers on Monday that senior management wanted them to "take full advantage" of their leave provisions during the holiday period.
Related Content
It is also to the Tax Office's advantage to have workers trim their annual leave balances during the public service's "Reduced Activity Period".
Over at the giant Department of Human Service, they are taking a slightly different approach, with public servants promised time off over Christmas only to be told they had to show up to work after all, much to their union's annoyance.
Senior executive Brad Chapman was in a generous mood when he emailed the Tax Office's public servants on Monday.
"Most ATO employees take at least two weeks of planned leave over the holiday period.December and January is our quietest time so it's a great opportunity to take full advantage of your annual leave provisions," Mr Chapman wrote.
"By taking annual leave in addition to the Christmas shutdown you can rest and recharge with an extended break.
"Whilst we recognise some areas are focused on finalising workloads that were impacted by our recent system outages, for others it could be an opportunity to take advantage of the quieter period."
Mr Chapman had some practical tips for tax officials to extend their end-of-year breaks.
"Consider maximising your time off over the holiday period by: taking the half day on Friday 23 December, shortening (or taking off) the first week back (Tuesday 3 to Friday 6 January), taking off Friday 27 January (the day after Australia Day).
"Talk to your manager today to book in your leave.
"Your manager will do their best to support your leave requests during this time and to make adjustments where possible.
"It's generally easier to balance business requirements during the holiday period compared to other times of the year where you may find it more difficult to take your leave."
At Human Services though, workers at the Child Support Agency who had already been granted their leave requests for the Christmas "reduced activity period" got a nasty shock back in October when they were told the time-off had been approved "based on incorrect advice" and that all bets were off.
The department said leave would be granted based on operational requirements.
"The department operates with reduced staffing levels over the RAP, noting our obligation as a service delivery department to continue providing essential services to the community," a spokesman told Fairfax.
Community and Public Service Union official Lisa Newman said it was unfair that employees should have their leave granted and then cancelled and said workers should be reimbursed for any money they had lost on travel or accommodation bookings.
10 comments
New User? Sign up