Extra holidays may be on cards for some civil servants

The Government is understood to have floated the suggestion of offering additional annual leave on a once-off basis to thousands of lower-paid civil servants in return for changes to the way they are paid.

The Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU) told members in recent days that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform had indicated possible annual leave "incentives" if they agreed to move to being paid on a fortnightly basis.

The 13,000 members of the CPSU, who include clerical officers and staff officers, are currently paid on a weekly basis.

No details of the nature of possible scale of the additional leave on offer were set out in the report.

Members of the CPSU currently have annual leave of between 21 and 24 days per year.

In a statement the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said: “There have been informal discussions with the CPSU in relation to standardising all Civil Staff to a fortnightly payment arrangement. We have no further comment to make at this time.”

The CPSU told members that an original proposal to move to monthly pay across the Civil Service appeared to have been dropped by the Government.

The union said that Civil Service management had “probed it on the question of fortnightly pay, something that has been agreed in the wider public sector”.

CPSU members have been very opposed to any proposals over recent years that they should move away from their traditional system of weekly payments.

Union sources have suggested that as members of the CPSU had take home pay of €350 to €400 per week, there were fears that less frequent payments could cause financial difficulties for some.

In its note to members the CPSU leadership said that its executive committee, at a meeting last week, was not in favour of the latest moves from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

“ While the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are indicating a possible seamless transfer to fortnightly pay (an advance week) with possible leave incentives included too, the executive committee were not disposed to engaging in such a discussion. Members will be kept fully briefed on this issue if it develops.”

As part of reforms introduced in 2012 the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform ended the wide variations that existed in annual leave arrangements across the public service put in place a standardised approach.

The previous arrangements included staff in some local authorities having up to 42 days off each year.

Local arrangements for staff to be given additional days off for festivals, race meetings etc were also ended under the 2012 reforms.