lessons learnt civil service reform in serbia [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
Origins of CS Reform in Serbia: Law on Labor Relations in State
Authorities (1991) – previous, semi-CS law
State Administration Reform Strategy (2004) – main guidelines for the new system
Law drafted with external support (the World Bank, UNDP, EU-DIAL)
Administrative tradition and legacy of the previous states (Serbia as center of administration) – pros and cons
Relevant Legislation:
Law on Civil Servants Law on Salaries of Civil Servants
and General Service Employees A number of implementing Bylaws Law on State Administration Law on Free Access to Information of
Public Importance Law on State Audit Institution (SAI) Law on the Ombudsman
Career vs. Position Based System:Career system:
‘closed’ – entry at lower ranks, while more senior positions are filled from within;
provides incentives for good performance and at ensuring that investments in training remain within the civil service
Position-based system (job-in-rank system): open – emphasis on selecting the right
candidate for the position to be filled; brings new talent into the civil service frees managers to focus on results
Serbian System Features: Law on CS enacted in 2005, application
began in 2006 No basis in the Constitution (only State
Administration) Like most systems – hybrid of the two models
(advantage for transitional countries); Original idea – stronger element of career,
esp. to appointed positions, but unsuccessful so far
Executing positions – combination, with strong element of position system
Intent was to stimulate mobility in CS
Serbian CSL: Definition of CS: Clear demarcation between civil servants
and elected and politically appointed officials (MPs, the President, ministers), judges, public prosecutors;
Clear demarcation between civil servants and general service employees of state authorities (ancillary technical tasks);
Tasks belonging to the competence of the state authority – ministries, other public administration authorities, courts, public prosecutors’ offices, public attorney’s office, President, etc.
Somewhat different regimes for authorities outside the “state administration”
Employees of local self-governments excluded;
Relation to the MoD:
MoD employs only 111 civil servants (almost entirely women);
Only “horizontal” tasks – HR, finances, etc.
Rulebook on Internal Organization and Job Classification applying to these 111 CSs;
The rest falls under the Formation Rules under the Formation much
more flexible – rationalization conducted on its basis.
Principles of work:
Legality, impartiality and political neutrality
Accountability – for legality, professionalism and effectiveness of work
Prohibition of discrimination (both positive and negative)
Openness – access to information (limitation for personal data protection)
Merit-based employment and promotion Equal opportunities
Rights of CSs:
Safety of work-place Remuneration (salary and other) Vacation & leave (Labor Law and Special
Collective Bargaining Agreement) – 20-30 w. days
Membership of trade unions and professional associations
Right to appeal to decision affecting rights and duties
Additional rights – bargaining agreements
Obligations:
Execution of orders by a superior (verbal) – if deemed unlawful, can be refused, should be communicated; repeated written order must be executed and the Head of State Authority notified;
Reassignments, temporary additional work, temporary assignment to lower-rank position
Participate in working groups Keeping official and other secrets Observing working hours AMENDMENT: Duty to inform about corruption
(whistleblowing)
Conflict of Interest Prevention: Prohibition to accept presents (except
protocol, small value) and to misuse position Possibility of additional (outside) work with
permission of Head of State Authority (except for scientific research, publishing, culture, art)
Prohibition of founding business entities and of entrepreneurship
Limitations on membership of managing boards
For appointed civil servants – application of legislation on prevention of conflict of interest
Types of Jobs in CS: Appointed positions :
managerial, though the term is nowhere used in the Law (instead – “directing and harmonizing”)
Appointment by Government or other State Authority (Assistant Minister, Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Director…)
Executing (not to be mixed with “executive”!) all others, including heads of smaller
organizational units (departments, sections…) classified into RANKS according to job
complexity, knowledge and skills required, etc. General job classification by a Bylaw
Labor position of civil servant:Executing: As a rule employed indefinitely Conditions for termination of employment
regulated in the law Exceptions to indefinite employment –
replacement of absent CS, temporary workload increase, positions in the minister’s cabinet (!), apprenticeship
Appointed: Five year mandate (Law on State Adm.),
renewable Reasons for dismissal clearly regulated in
Law (mainly corruption, 2 bad performance appraisals, if Ombudsman’s recommendation is accepted, etc.)
Filling in the vacancies:
General conditions (citizenship, clean record…) For appointed CS – higher education and a
minimum of 9 years of working experience Rulebook on job systematization Conditions for filling in: 1) existence in the
Rulebook; 2) foreseen by the staffing plan Procedures for filling in executing positions: 1)
reassignment within the Authority; 2) mutual agreement on takeover; 3) transfer based on internal or public competition; 4) new employment upon public competition
Filling in vacancies – executing positions: Internal reassignment is given advantage Mutual agreement between Heads of
Authorities to take over a CS – second option Internal competition in civil service – third
option Public competition – mandatory (no other
way of hiring into CS) If the latter is unsuccessful, position either
remains vacant or procedure re-initiated
Advantage given to hiring from within (career), though strong element of external hiring, as internal competitions and transfers are NOT mandatory
Filling in vacancies – appointed positions: Internal and public competition Internal competition obligatory if Government
is appointing Repeated appointment – without competition Selection committee proposes max. 3
candidates for appointment to Minister/Director, who then proposes one candidate to the Government
Minister/Director – not obliged to propose a candidate for appointment
If no appointment is made, new procedure initiated
Performance Appraisal: Strongly linked to promotion possibility Results evaluated (monitored) on quarterly
basis Appraisal conducted once a year Five levels of grade/mark “Early” appraisal – if performance in one
quarter is evaluated with the lowest grade Extraordinary appraisal – all CSs who
receive the lowest grade – 2nd level grade results in demotion & repeated lowest grade – dismissal
Fast track dismissal of poorly performing CSs
Promotion – position-based:Executing positions: To a position in immediately higher
rank (e.g. from adviser to independent adviser) or to a management executing position (e.g. chef of section)
Based on appraisal (min. 2 consecutive highest grades or 4 second highest)
To appointed positions: Appointment to any appointed
position
Promotion – salary based:
Without changing rank or position, but with increase in salary through obtaining of a higher salary class (Law on Salaries of CSs)
Also linked to performance appraisal (based on the Law on Salaries)
Increases in salaries very small (40-50 EUR)
No increase in salary if appraisal conditions (very demanding) are not met
Training and Qualifications:
Right AND duty of CS to improve professionally in line with the needs of the state authority
HRM Service (CoG institution) in charge of developing programs and delivery of training
Internal competitions for selecting recipients of funding for additional education for civil servants (linked to performance appraisal)
State professional exam for indefinite term CSs
Ways/reasons for termination of employment Expiry for limited term civil servants Bad appraisal (repeated in extraord.
appraisal) Poor performance on probation Failure to pass professional state exam Staying “unassigned” for over 2 months
(results from downsizing through changes of Rulebooks or dissolution of the state authority, if the scope of its work is not taken over by another)
Other regulated issues:
Apprenticeship (conditions, duration, etc.)
Disciplinary liability (minor and grave breaches of duties), procedure and sanctions
HRM system – staffing plans, HRM Service, personnel records
High Civil Service Council (prescribes types of qualifications, knowledge and skills evaluated in selection procedure, enacts the Code of Conduct)
Positive Lessons (1):
Sufficient time was allowed as transitional period for application of the Law on CS
Public competition prescribed as mandatory – reducing scope for arbitrariness in recruitment (but not entirely eliminating it)
Professionalization of top levels of civil service (but…)
Good balance of job security and possibility to downsize the sizeable state administration (latest amendments)
Positive Lessons (2):
Other PA related legislation and new institutions (e.g. Ombudsman, SAI, Commissioner for Access to Information, Anti-Corruption Agency) integrated with CS quite well – civil servants’ responsibility of “speaking truth to power” made easier (independent institutions as allies)
Negative Lessons (1): Law too detailed (191 articles!), regulates issues
such as contents of public competition announcement, entire recruitment procedure, appeals procedure and boards – makes technical and procedural changes too difficult!
Poor regulation of management authority, tasks – complete centralization of decision-making powers
Very formalistic approach to requirements regarding skills, competences for work in civil service
Very high requirement for appointed CSs in terms of length of professional experience
Negative Lessons (2): Non-performance of internal competitions for
each vacant position (procedure of internal reassignment) – opens space for excessive discretion by managers
Appraisal system poorly applied (unevenly, lack of incentive for managers to appraise realistically)
Training poorly integrated into appraisal and promotion system – changes under way!
The depoliticization “bar” set very high – question of political culture and time needed for change
Lack of depoliticization need not be at odds with professionalization of positions
No ex-post analysis of effects of legislation
