Does Microsoft outlook 2000 have out of office assistance like later versions?

Microsoft Outlook doesn't have Out of Office at all. That's a function provided by Exchange Server. An Out of Office message has to be managed by a server not the client (Outlook is a client).

One could setup a rule in Outlook to send and Out of Office message, but that would need to be kicked off by the client receiving mail. Which means the PC has to be on and polling the mailbox.