Your Union and Delegates recently attended the Peak Joint Consultative Committee to discuss member concerns with the Secretary. The following matters were discussed.

Vaccination Leave vs Flex time

A number of members from across the Department of Customer Service have contacted the PSA requesting further clarification on which leave to access when needing time away from work to get vaccinated.

Members who are Shift Workers, in that they work a 38 hour week and are on a roster, have access to the 2 hours Vaccination Leave. DCS indicated they are now clarifying if the 2 hours can be accessed for both vaccinations, as it stands the Premier’s Circular is being interpreted as 2 hours vaccination leave in total. They will come back to us on this.

As all other staff have access to Flex Time, DCS has again advised staff to negotiate time off with their Manager to get vaccinated by accessing Flex.

Your Industrial Officers raised concerns that those living in areas without easy access to a vaccination hub may need more time off than they have Flex Leave to access the vaccine. DCS’s response was that allowances may be made where appropriate and members should contact their Manager or People & Culture where circumstances need to be considered.

To read the Premier’s Circular on Vaccination Leave in full, follow this LINK

PSA and other Public Sector Unions requested Vaccination Leave to further incentivise and assist in facilitating people getting the vaccine. Both the Premier and DCS have referred to the flexibility already provided to Public Sector employees to meet this need, the PSA continues to see this as inadequate. Private sector staff (for example a recent announcement by ALDI) are being offered more flexibility and incentive to get vaccinated. We would like to thik that this will trickle down to public sector employees soon.

On the question of if DCS employees would require or direct staff to be vaccinated to access Public Service sites, Secretary Emma Hogan advised she would be guided by the Premier and her messaging on this.

Additional questions on Flex Leave

Members being denied Flex Leave when over their 30 day Recreation Leave balance has been an emerging issue across the cluster, and the Public Service, as people continue to delay leave for obvious reasons. DCS acknowledged the difficulty and advised they are working on finding the balance. PSA believe that staff should not be put in a position where they lose accrued hours, the Department appears to agree with us.

The Award states staff should take two consecutive weeks of leave a year, this is largely to prevent burn out and the PSA suggests that members are mindful of this in discussions with their Manager when making a plan for leave. We expect to hear further from the Department on this topic soon.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Both parties discussed the impact to staff during these unprecedented times, noting that burn out and exhaustion, as well as depression and anxiety are all increasing across our communities. DCS is encouraging staff to access support services where needed during this period and reported there has been an increase in employees accessing EAP services (jumping from 6 per cent to 10 per cent).

DCS also noted a decrease in staff accessing Domestic Violence Leave in the month of July, which it has flagged as concerning. The PSA reminds members who are working from home in unsafe environments there are people who want to support you and ensure your safety. We encourage you to reach out to your Manager, PSA Delegate or the Member Support Centre, whoever you’re comfortable with, to make a plan.

Launching later this year is an online WHS hazard and incident reporting tool, mySafety. We hope this will provide clearer data about where the risks are so they can be monitored and adequately addressed.

There has also been an increase of the contingent labour work force to 14 per cent which the department says is due to current short term projects, such as the Service NSW business grants. DCS advised they were unable to fill positions despite accessing existing Talent Pools, PSA will keep a watchful eye on this.

We would like to remind members we are here to support you during these difficult times.  We encourage PSA members to discuss their individual concerns with our Member Support Centre by calling 1300 772 769 or emailing

You can also request a virtual meeting to discuss collective issues including changes to ways of working during lockdown. Please by emailing the Member Support Centre to request a meeting.