The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform publishes the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Bill 2013 – removing the legislative barriers to redeployment and mobility in general within the public service.
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Brendan Howlin T.D. today ( May 2013) published the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Bill 2013 which removes the legislative barriers to redeployment and mobility in general between the various sectors within the public service. The Minister said "I welcome this mechanism to facilitate greater movement between public service organisations and into and out of non-commercial State bodies. Now more than ever there is a need for greater fluidity and exchange of expertise to help drive excellence in public services delivery. The Bill will also support the redeployment of surpluses in one organisation to meet deficits in another and in this way maximise the existing resources within the public service".
Barriers to Redeployment and Mobility
The Bill has the following key features:
· It will enable an employee of a public service body to be redeployed to a comparable post in another public service body following designation by the Public Appointments Service (PAS). The PAS will identify the most appropriate placement taking account of the competencies, qualifications, grade, pay, etc. of the person and the requirements of the post on offer
· Redeployment is to be on no less favourable conditions in relation to basic pay and pension. The Bill provides for the transfer of responsibility to meet superannuation liabilities to the receiving organisation and provides for the preservation of various statutory rights of employees that are linked to length of service, such Redundancy Acts, Unfair Dismissal Act, etc.
Open Top Level Appointment Committee (TLAC) competitions
The Minister is also taking the opportunity afforded by the passage of this Bill to regularise the treatment of senior appointments to reflect the fact that open recruitment is now the norm for such posts.
Notes for Editors
The main provisions of the Bill are as follows:
Section 1 defines the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 as the Principal Act.
Section 2 defines a "public service body" for the purposes of the redeployment function, which is assigned to the PAS under sections 4, 5 and 6, to include all public service employers except commercial State bodies and their subsidiaries.
Section 3 removes the existing exemption, under section 7(2)(a), from the general provisions of the Principal Act in respect of the Top Level Appointment Committee (TLAC) appointments, bringing these within the ambit of the Act.
Sections 4, 5 and 6
provide for the insertion of a new Section 34A and a new Part 6A (which comprises sections 57A to 57F) into the Principal Act:
· Section 34A provides that the PAS shall have the functions set out in Part 6A.
· Section 57A provides that a person designated by PAS for redeployment to a position in another public service body shall be appointed to that position.
· Section 57B enables PAS to designate a public service employee for redeployment to a comparable position elsewhere in the public service. A person on a fixed term contract may be redeployed for the period remaining on their contract.
· Section 57C provides that redeployment is to be on no less favourable conditions in relation to basic pay (defined in section 57A) and pension (except in relation to fast accrual arrangements). It provides for the transfer of the responsibility to meet superannuation liabilities to the receiving organisation and the preservation of various statutory rights of employees that are linked to length of service, such as those accruing under the Redundancy Acts, Unfair Dismissal Act, Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, Parental Leave Act etc. It also provides that those assigned to the civil service will be subject to the Civil Service Regulation Acts and the Ethics in Public Office Acts.
· Section 57D sets out the factors to be considered by the PAS when designating a person for redeployment. These are the competencies, qualifications, grading and pay rates of the person being redeployed and those required in the post they are being assigned to; the terms of any policy of the Minister, or collective agreement, relating to the mobility or redeployment of public service employees; and the methods of recruitment and selection applying to public servants generally.
· Section 57E sets out details of those who are precluded from redeployment by the PAS. These are holders of political, judicial and constitutional posts, members of the Permanent Defence Force, Presidential and Government appointees, as well as special advisers, officers of the Houses of the Oireachtas and those employed by the Central Bank of Ireland and the National Treasury Management Agency. It provides that the Minister may, by Order, add further bodies to this list.
· Section 57F removes any impediments under the Data Protection Act 1988 to the transfer of personal information to the PAS, or to another public service body, for the purpose their redeployment to that body.
Section 7 corrects Schedule 2 of the Principal Act to reflect the fact that there is no section 14(4) in the Aviation Regulation Act 2001 and the Schedule should refer instead to section 11(4) of that Act.
Section 8 inserts an additional Schedule to the Principal Act to list the commercial State bodies, which are excluded from the definition of "public service body".
Section 9 is a standard provision providing for a short title, and for commencement on a day to be appointed by the Minister, by Order.
The text of the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Bill 2013 and the Explanatory Memorandum are available on www.per.gov.ie
Croke Park Agreement/Haddington Road Agreement and Redeployment
The Croke Park Agreement provided a basis for movement within the civil service, the health, local authority and education sectors, and, where internal redeployment is not possible, between these bodies and non-commercial semi state bodies (NCSSBs). The arrangements are reaffirmed in the Haddington Road proposals.
At present, such movements are legally not possible however and we have been using secondment arrangements pending the opportunity to address the legal impediments involved. The Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Bill 2013 removes the legislative barriers to redeployment and mobility in general within the public service.