POLICY: SPECIAL LEAVE

1. TITLE

Special Leave.

2. DEFINITION OF TERMS

In this policy, unless the context indicates otherwise, the following words
mean:

 Examination: Official examination for which an official time table

can be supplied.

 Sabbatical leave: Research leave for employees on the joint

establishment of the University as well as the Department of Health.

3. PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to indicate in which circumstances or

responsibilities the Department shall authorize special leave with full pay
to employees.

4. LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The directives contained in this policy are issued in accordance with the
following directives:

 Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation No. 103 of 1994)

 The Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (Act no. 75 of 1997)
 Public Service Regulations, 2001
 Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council, Resolutions no.
7 of 2000 and no. 5 of 2001
 Human Resource Circular 4 of 2001
 Human Resource Centre Core Circular 94/2000

5. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

The authority of approval is vested in the MEC: Health.

6. SCOPE OF APPLICABILITY

This policy is applicable to all employees within the Free State Department
of Health.

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7. IMPLEMENTATION

7.1 Study Leave

To regulate the granting of Study leave for purposes of examinations,

study, class attendance, practical work.

7.1.1 Examinations

(a) Special leave with full pay may be granted to an employee for the
day on which she/he sits for examination or examinations which, in
the opinion of the head of department,

(i) has the objective to better equip the person concerned for a
career in the public service, irrespective of whether it relates
to her/his immediate field of work or not, or

(ii) is in a field of study, which is in full or in part in the interest of

the public service.

(b) The examination or examinations referred to in this subparagraph

may include that an ordinary school subjects up to Grade 12
(matric) as well as an examination in respect of which a certificate
is not necessarily issued to successful candidates.

(c) Special leave with full pay equal to the number of days on which
she/he sits for examination as contemplated in subparagraph (a),
may be granted to an employee to enable her/him to prepare her-/
himself for the examination.

(d) The provisions in subparagraph (b) may be applied once only in

respect of a supplementary or and end of year examination
pertaining to a study course (or part of a study course) which an
employee failed and which she/he has to repeat.

(e) If the special leave granted in terms of subparagraphs (a) and (c)
precedes and succeeds a day of rest or two or more consecutive
days of rest, such a day or days of rest, although to be recorded as
special leave, must be disregarded when calculating the number of
days special leave which may be granted to the employee.

(f) Only 2 days additional leave prior to the preparation are allowed for
each subject to prepare for the examinations. This privilege is not
applicable when an employee had to re-write a paper.

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7.1.2 Attendance of classes during office hours

(a) On application for 8-hour leave an employee must submit:

(i) an official timetable and travelling time (which must be

recorded in an attendance register);

(ii) an academic record; and

(iii) 8-hour leave agreement.

(b) An employee who studies part-time or by means of correspondence

at a recognized educational institution and who, as a result of her/
his studies, is required to be absent from her/his place of work, may
be released from duty on condition that she/he takes a day’s
vacation leave with full-pay may be utilized for every full eight hours
she/he is so released from duty. If she/he does not have leave to
her/his credit a day’s vacation leave without pay.

(c) An employee who serves in a rank in which candidates are

normally appointed with a view to training in specific fields, and who
failed to attain the matriculation standard in those subjects required
for admission to the training course(s) and who attends part-time
classes at a recognized educational institution in order to bring
her/his knowledge of those subjects up to matriculation standards,
may notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (a), be
released from duty for not more than four hours per working week.

(d) An employee who serves in a rank in which candidates are

normally appointed with a view to training in specific fields who
study part-time at a technical college, technikon, university or other
recognized educational institution, may be released from duty to the
extent required by her/his studies.

(e) An employee who repeats a course or part thereof may with the
approval of the head of department be released from duty on
condition that one day’s vacation leave with full pay or if she/he
does not have leave to her/his credit one day’s vacation leave
without pay may be granted in respect of every full eight hours
she/he is so released.

(f) The granting of leave privileges as set out in this paragraph is

subjected to the head of department being satisfied that the studies
are in the interest of the public service.

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(g) Leave application forms should clearly reflect all time absent from
work. A copy of the 8-hour agreement entered into must
accompany all leave applications.

(h) An annual report of 8-hour leave taken must be submitted to the

head of department.

(i) All 8-hour leave applications must be annually renewed.

7.1.3 Study (50-50 study leave)

(a) Apart from the special leave contemplated in 7.1, study leave, on
the basis of one day’s special leave with full pay for each day’s
vacation leave with full pay taken by an employee in connection
with her/his studies, etc. (known as the 50-50 basis), may be
granted in the circumstances mentioned below, on the condition
that the head of department is satisfied that the relevant person’s
study field, does preparatory work, etc. which is in the interest of
the Public Service (including the teaching profession and
irrespective of whether it is in her/his own or another field of work).

(i) Extramural (part-time) studies and/or studies by means of

correspondence when once or twice a year leave is needed
to attend practicals or research work.

(ii) Research work and/or writing an essay or thesis for a post-

graduate qualification.

(iii) Study in a direction, which requires the performance of

practical work or practice teaching for a particular period
annually.

(b) The provisions in subparagraph (a) may be applied once only in

cases where a person does preparatory and research work with a
view to writing a re-examination or an end of year examination in
respect of a study course (or part of study course), which she/he
failed and had to repeat.

(c) If an employee referred to in subparagraph (iii) is:

(i) required to perform the practical work or practice work in an

institution of a government department, she/he must be
regarded as being on official duty. Any travelling and
subsistence expenses arising there from must be borne by
the employee her-/himself; and

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(ii) to receive remuneration for the practical work, her/his case

must be dealt with in accordance with section 30(b) of the
Public Service Act, 1994.

7.1.4 Nursing personnel who receive full-time training, which consists mainly of
practical work

Nursing personnel, who receive post-basic clinical nursing, linked with

practical training, must be released from duty for such training with
retention of their full salaries and allowances (which, if possible, must be
recovered as being on official duty). Subsistence expenses should not be
paid. Study on assignment agreements should be entered into.

7.2 Sabbatical Leave

(a) Special leave with full pay (sabbatical leave) may be granted on the
following basis to an employee in the health services who is
appointed full-time in a joint or tripartite capacity (in which a
department and a university are involved) with the aim of providing
inter alia training to students to enable her/him by means of study
or research (which may not necessarily lead to the obtainment of a
higher qualification) to a more in-depth knowledge of her/his field of
study:

(i) The granting of leave must be done with due consideration

to the needs of the employer.

(ii) Application for Sabbatical leave must be submitted four (4)

months before the commencement of the leave.

(iii) There must be a year between applications for Sabbatical

leave.

(iv) Sabbatical leave can be combined with research leave.

(v) No employee is allowed to make use of Sabbatical leave

within the last year of service before retirement. Exceptional
circumstances will be considered.

(vi) Three or six calendar months sabbatical leave may

respectively be granted after every completed three or six
years continuous full-time service, during which the
employee was appointed with the aim of providing training.
Such leave may not accumulate to more than twelve months.

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(vii) The granting of sabbatical leave by the departments may not

coincide with the payment of study fees and travel and
subsistence costs from State funds.

(viii) Employees utilizing sabbatical leave will be contractually

bound for the same period as the leave period.

(b) Previous continuous service, during which an employee was

appointed with the aim of providing training, can be taken into
account for the purpose of the calculation of sabbatical leave upon
transfer to the public service. Sabbatical leave already utilized in
such previous service period must be subtracted from the leave
credit indicated above.

7.3 Sport Leave

(a) Special leave with full pay may be granted to an employee when
she/he:

(i) is selected by a recognized amateur sports association to:

(aa) take part, as a member of an organized sports group,

in a sports tour outside the Republic whether as a
competitor, coach or manager; or

(bb) represent South Africa, and not merely a club or

province, as a competitor, coach or manager at
international sporting events within the Republic; or

(cc) accompany a foreign national team visiting the

Republic, as a representative of the South African
Sports Association organizing the tour; and

(ii) serve as a referee, an official or a judge at an organized

amateur sports meeting at international level inside or
outside the boundaries of the Republic.

(b) Special leave with full pay may be granted on the following basis to
an employee when she/he is selected by a recognized amateur
sports association to take part in sport within the Republic at inter-
provincial level, or a level between provincial and national level or a
level lower than national level against an international team:

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(i) One day special leave with full pay is granted for each day
vacation leave with full pay which the employee takes (i.e. on
a 50-50 basis) provided that the number of days special
leave which may be granted per person per year ending
31 December, for the purposes in question, be limited to a
maximum of 10 days. A total of 20 days sports leave (10
days special leave and 10 days vacation leave) may
therefore be granted. Special leave utilized from 1 January
1994 must be taken into account for purposes of the granting
of special leave in terms of this subparagraph for 1994.

(ii) A day of rest or days of rest which fall(s) within a period of

sports leave, form(s) part of the 50-50 basis.

(iii) When an employee desires to take only one-day sports

leave the employee and department should in turn
respectively take one day vacation leave with full pay or
grant one day special leave with full pay.

(iv) If the period of sports leave amounts to an unequal number

of days, the employee and the State should in turn
respectively either take the biggest number of days vacation
leave with full pay and grant the smallest number of days
special leave with full pay, or take the smallest number of
days vacation leave with full pay and grant the biggest
number of days special leave with full pay.

(v) Where the employee has no vacation leave to her/his credit

special leave referred to in this subparagraph cannot be
granted to her/him.

7.4 Transfer Leave

To supervise the packing, loading or unloading or the unpacking of

personal effects:

(a) if an employee is transferred at State expenses from his or her

head quarters to wherever she/he is transferred to, one day’s
special leave can be granted for supervision during unpacking,
unloading or loading of personal effects;

(b) a maximum of two days special leave may be granted for this
purpose.

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7.5 Disability Leave

(a) In the case of unforeseen circumstances, which include lifts not in a

working condition, special leave can be granted to employees with
physical disabilities.

(b) If a disabled employee has to attend a recognized course for

her/his embitterment, special leave may be granted.

7.6 Natural Disaster Leave

Employees qualify for special leave if the area in which she/he is working/
residing is struck by a natural disaster and the head of the department is
satisfied that it is impossible for the employee concerned at that time to
continue with her/his official duties.

7.7 Appearance before a Court of Law

(a) When an employee has been subpoena to appear in court in a

criminal case as a plaintiff or witness, she/he may be granted
special leave.

(b) When an employee has been subpoena to appear in court as the

accused, she/he must utilize her/his vacation leave. (This leave
may be reversed if the employee is acquitted or the case has been
withdrawn.)

7.8 Interviews

(a) If an employee is invited for an interview within the Government

Service, special leave may be granted for that day provided that
written proof of such invitation is submitted.

7.9 Quarantine leave

If an employee was absent from work as a result of separation or

isolation on medical instructions, because he or she has been in
contact with a person suffering from contagious or infectious
disease, special leave shall be granted.

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8. General Provisions

8.1 Except in exceptional circumstances, the employee may not stay

away from her/his place of duty unless an application for leave of
absence has been lodged in writing and the head of department has
informed her/him that the application has been approved.

8.2 Heads of department must ensure that:

(a) Leave forms are submitted for all absences and all outstanding
leave forms are followed up.

(b) All leave taken is captured on a daily basis and there are no
backlogs in respect of each annual leave cycle.

(c) Individual utilization of leave is communicated to employees at the

end of each annual leave cycle in respect of annual vacation leave.

9. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibility to approve

(a) all special leave, except for Sabbatical leave, is delegated

according to Human Resource Management Circular 25 of 2003.

(b) Sabbatical leave is vested in the Head of Department.

10. MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REPORTING

This policy is in line with the legal framework of the Public Service and
should be adhered to by all relevant stakeholders and will be reviewed
from time to time to accommodate any changes or national directives.

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