The date of the annual shutdown is determined by the company’s management,
and should be as similar as possible to the previous year’s annual shutdown
dates.
The annual shutdown must in total, amount to three consecutive weeks’ paid
leave taken over an unbroken period and include four weekends. In addition, the
three weeks’ leave must be extended with full pay for each public holiday which
falls during the annual shutdown period and which would otherwise have been
an ordinary working day.
This year, depending on the start of the annual shutdown, the following public
holidays fall into this category, where the normal work week is Monday to Friday:
- 15 December (Friday) – Day of Celebration and Unity;
- 25 December (Monday) – Christmas Day;
- 26 December (Tuesday) – Day of Goodwill;
- 1 January (Monday) – New Year’s Day