No leave bonus for public servants

The budget 2005 scheme for the public servants to get additional payment for unutilised leave as an incentive for them to be at their workplaces, has been cancelled without prior notice due to financial constraints, The Sunday Times learns. The scheme introduced to discourage public servants from taking leave has been cancelled after the government paid a staggering Rs. 6.5 billion for unuitlised leave in 2006. Public servants will not be paid the bonus for 2007. The sudden cancellation of the scheme is likely to prompt public servants to take their unutilised leave before the year ends.

This may result in large-scale absenteeism in the public sector in the next few weeks. Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry Secretary D. Dissanayake said the new circular opened up better options for the public servants.“Public officers were allowed to carry forward only the sick leave they have not taken to the next year according to the previous system and the new circular allows them to carry vacation, sick and casual leave forward as well,” he said.

Explaining the other benefits the public servants would gain by the new circular, he said they would be able to take 6 months leave after every 5 years, reemploy for 1 year when retired and would be able to take 1 year leave prior to the retirement if the public servants collected their leave without using it. Several public servants are reported to have taken the seven-day compulsory leave at the beginning of the year which would make them eligible for the incentive bonus in lieu of their leave entitlements.

While the public officers were preparing to get the additional allowances, senior officials at ministries said they welcome the new circular. A. Kahandaliyanage, the secretary to the Ministry of Health and Nutrition, said the new circular was better as the employees of the Health sector couldn’t take the 7 day compulsory leave to be eligible to get the money as they had to report to work regularly. Meanwhile, Non-Cabinet Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said the government was not benefited by paying this allowance to the public officials last year.