SCOTTISH Government staff are to be given an extra day's holiday for St Andrew's Day.
Some 7,500 staff will benefit from the decision – but as St Andrew's Day falls on Sunday this year, they will get the next day off instead.
The move was unveiled yesterday by Linda Fabiani, the culture minister, who said the administration was f
ollowing the lead set by the Scottish Parliament. And she urged other organisations to consider their own arrangements for marking St Andrew's Day, which falls on 30 November.
Ms Fabiani said: "This is an important signal for the Scottish Government to send out, particularly as we prepare to welcome visitors from around the world to join our year-long Homecoming Scotland celebrations in Scotland in 2009.
"We want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to celebrate Scotland's national day and take part in the events around St Andrew's Day as the beginning of our Winter Festival."
Officials said that research had highlighted the success of a government-led initiative to make St Andrew's Day the start of a Winter Festival running through Hogmanay to Burns Night.
Ms Fabiani added: "St Andrew's Day is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate Scotland's proud national identity, steeped in rich culture and history."
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said employers should be given the freedom to swap a St Andrew's Day holiday with another date in the year.
Ron Hewitt, chief executive of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: "If it's to be a national holiday, it should be for everybody. "
