Government introduces new policy on special leave for civil servants

The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has issued a circular directing all government departments to use only the new Persal codes to record special leave of civil servants, effective from 1 August 2024.

This change follows a resolution of the General Public Service Sector Negotiating Council (GPSSBC) between trade unions and the employer.

According to DPSA Director General, Ms Yoliswa Makhasi, the old special leave codes will be deactivated and departments must use newly created Persal codes to record special leave under the new regulation to ensure a smooth transition and accurate record keeping.

The new Persal codes cover a number of special leave categories, including:

– Exams/tests

– Research and postgraduate qualifications

– Attend classes during working hours

– Training-Internships

– Amateur sports-participation

– Cultural events-participation

– Religious holiday

– Natural disasters – unforeseen

– Resettlement

– Rehabilitation-Substance Abuse

– Harassment

– Community/third party protests and absences not recorded as leave

Individual departments are responsible for obtaining, managing and verifying required evidence and supporting documentation regarding special leave to be retained for leave audit purposes.

Marius Klue, HR Director at the National Treasury, announced that all old departmental leave subcategory codes in the GPSSBC system will become inactive on August 1, 2024.

Departments using the Persal Leave interface have until 31 July 2024 to adapt their leave systems to use the new leave subcategory codes.