Annual Leave: Are you entitled to an increase?
by Seán Carabini

A central theme that emerged during engagements with administrative officers (AOs) over the last year is that many of the particulars of their terms and conditions – and some of the hidden pitfalls – are not widely known. In this short article, we seek to explain the current annual leave allowance for AOs.

 

There are two annual leave allowances – one for those who worked as an AO prior to 14th December 2011 and one for those who started work in the grade after that date.

  • Pre:14th December 2011 AOs: An AO begins on 25, rising to 29 after 5 years’ service and to 31 after 10 years’ service.
  • Post: 14th December 2011 AOs: 25, rising to 29 after 5 years’ service and to 30 after 10 years’ service.

It should be noted that the term ‘service’ refers to service in the grade and not service in the civil service generally.

 

This is covered in the 2012 Department of Public Expenditure and Reform note E109/50/11.

 

There is a ‘however’ in relation to this. In most cases, the jump after 5 and 10 years is not automatic. A request must be made to Peoplepoint at the time and they will manually update it. It is important that people who have been working for more than 5 and more than 10 years check their allowance to see if it has been updated.

 

Generally speaking, these leave allowances also apply to grades linked, in pay terms, to the AO grade, including the grades of Third Secretary and Development Specialist Officer, for example.

 

Finally, it is noted that there is a significant discrepancy between the AO grade and the HEO grade in relation to annual leave. This is one of the items addressed in Fórsa’s Reforming the AO Grade: Administrative Officers and their role in the Irish Civil Service report.

 

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