Civil Service Reform in Serbia

Civil Service Reform in Serbia Lessons Learnt milena.lazarevic@europeanpolicy.org

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

Thank you for your attention. milena.lazarevic@europeanpolicy.org

Civil Service Reform in Serbia