The Australian government has shared an official guide for gamers hoping to get time off for a highly anticipated release next month.
With Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA6) landing November 19, Aussies low on annual leave or plotting a convincing sickie might have one last option to score time off.
Be the first to know when news breaks. Download our new app
The Fair Work Ombudsman has taken to its official Instagram to clarify what rights workers actually have, before unnecessarily landing themselves in a human resources meeting.
“Let’s pretend GTA VI is coming out tomorrow, but you don’t have any paid leave available to play on launch day. Can you take unpaid leave?” the post read.
The gallery then offers various scenarios in which an employee would be able to take time off without pay.
“In some situations, you have a specific right to unpaid leave under the National Employment Standards (NES),” the post continued.
Instances covered include carer’s leave, with workers entitled to two days’ unpaid leave to look after a sick or injured family member.
“We don’t think this one will apply,” Fair Work wrote in the guide.
They advised counting out taking time off for an emergency and for parental leave.
“Though it’s been in the oven for a while, a video game isn’t a child,” the government body reminded GTA 6 fans.
It recommended that those not covered under NES simply ask the boss and hope for the best.
“There’s no actual minimum entitlement to it, so you’ll need to reach an agreement with your employer to use unpaid leave in these situations,” the post recommended.
While the advice might leave some employees still wondering how to pull the wool over their boss’ eyes, the comment section was in applause over the comical advice.
“Fairwork admin doing their best to prevent an economic collapse on release of GTA6,” a user praised.
“Fair Work doing God’s work with this one,” another said.
A third added: “GTA 6 release day should be a national holiday.”
Others condemned the idea of taking a full day of work off to sit in front of the PlayStation.
“Not gonna lie, it’s honestly sad if you take time off for a video game. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pumped for GTA 6, and it comes out on a day I have work, so I’ll go to work, come home and then play it,” one person said.
Another questioned: “Why risk your job?”
It’s predicted the release of the game will spark the biggest sick day in history, with many fans seemingly unable to wait to play the game that cost $2.7 billion to make.
Industry predictions suggest it could rake in $6.2 billion in its first week alone.
The hype was on full display earlier this year when an extended trailer dropped on Netflix, driving so much traffic that it triggered technical glitches before topping charts worldwide.