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Cape Town - If people think they only have to
apply for three days leave for the period between Christmas and New
Year's day, they are in for a shock, as they will actually have to apply
for four.
Thousands of calendars printed by a Johannesburg company, Imagine 121, have erroneously marked Tuesday, December 27, as a public holiday in the mistaken belief that because Christmas Day and Day of Goodwill fall on a Sunday and Monday respectively, then the Tuesday must automatically be one too.
A spokesperson for Imagine 121 said that the marking of the Tuesday as a public holiday was an error that was only picked up after the print run of thousands of calendars that had been distributed to companies throughout the country.
"Oddly enough you are the first person to query it. We have had no complaints from any of our customers," the spokesperson said.
Many South African companies traditionally shut down or work with skeleton staffing levels from December 16 to the first week of January. The week between Christmas and New Year is usually given to staff for leave but the days that are not public holidays have to be approved as official leave.
Gordon Metter, deputy president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce said while the issue may seem trivial, it can cause stress in the workplace when employees suddenly find they have one day less leave than they originally thought.
"We have had some queries about this and the fact is that many people take a calendar as gospel. Employers must make it very clear to employees that it was not their decision not to make the Tuesday a public holiday," he said.
Cosatu Western Cape Provincial Secretary Tony Ehrenreich said: "If the workers see it as a public holiday then they must take it. However, I do suggest that goodwill be used on both sides when negotiating the issue."
Ian Ollis, the Democratic Alliance's shadow minister of labour, also called for goodwill in the negotiations between employers and employees and pointed out that only the President has the powers to declare a public holiday "...and not a calendar".
SA has 12 public holidays and those that are considered the most disruptive to business, and particularly the manufacturing sector, are those that fall either on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
"Those days break the working week as people use them to take long weekends," Metter said.
He said the Cape Chamber is on record requesting that government consider allowing public holidays to fall only on either a Monday or a Friday and that it should consider reducing the number of public holidays.
In 2012 three public holidays fall in the middle of the week, they are Human Rights Day on Wednesday, March 21, Workers Day on Tuesday, May 1, and National Women's Day on August 9.
Thousands of calendars printed by a Johannesburg company, Imagine 121, have erroneously marked Tuesday, December 27, as a public holiday in the mistaken belief that because Christmas Day and Day of Goodwill fall on a Sunday and Monday respectively, then the Tuesday must automatically be one too.
A spokesperson for Imagine 121 said that the marking of the Tuesday as a public holiday was an error that was only picked up after the print run of thousands of calendars that had been distributed to companies throughout the country.
"Oddly enough you are the first person to query it. We have had no complaints from any of our customers," the spokesperson said.
Many South African companies traditionally shut down or work with skeleton staffing levels from December 16 to the first week of January. The week between Christmas and New Year is usually given to staff for leave but the days that are not public holidays have to be approved as official leave.
Gordon Metter, deputy president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce said while the issue may seem trivial, it can cause stress in the workplace when employees suddenly find they have one day less leave than they originally thought.
"We have had some queries about this and the fact is that many people take a calendar as gospel. Employers must make it very clear to employees that it was not their decision not to make the Tuesday a public holiday," he said.
Cosatu Western Cape Provincial Secretary Tony Ehrenreich said: "If the workers see it as a public holiday then they must take it. However, I do suggest that goodwill be used on both sides when negotiating the issue."
Ian Ollis, the Democratic Alliance's shadow minister of labour, also called for goodwill in the negotiations between employers and employees and pointed out that only the President has the powers to declare a public holiday "...and not a calendar".
SA has 12 public holidays and those that are considered the most disruptive to business, and particularly the manufacturing sector, are those that fall either on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
"Those days break the working week as people use them to take long weekends," Metter said.
He said the Cape Chamber is on record requesting that government consider allowing public holidays to fall only on either a Monday or a Friday and that it should consider reducing the number of public holidays.
In 2012 three public holidays fall in the middle of the week, they are Human Rights Day on Wednesday, March 21, Workers Day on Tuesday, May 1, and National Women's Day on August 9.
