Grounds and limits for temporary employment in the public service

The use of temporary employment in the public service is possible and limited to justified situations

Review of legislation on the public service in the central government administration. Relevant legislation may include a general law on the civil service, and/or a general law on the public service, and the labour law if it applies to temporary employment in the public service. Special legislation regulating specific groups of public servants, if it exists, is not considered. Specific regulations regarding top management positions in the public service, if they exist, are not considered Analysis determines if legislation allows temporary employment establishes the functions and circumstances to which temporary employment applies. Grounds for temporary employment must be objective and justified. Core public service functions should be, as a rule, reserved for permanent public servants, with exceptions under certain circumstances, such as activities of short-term nature. Justified circumstances for temporary employment in other public service functions include, for example, the replacement of temporary absent staff due to parental leave, sick leave, temporary transfers and similar situations, or a temporary increase in the workload. As a rule, temporary contracts should not last more than three years.

Temporary employment in the public service is subject to reasonable time limits

Recruitment and selection for temporary employment is transparent and merit-based

Review of legislation on the public service in the central government administration. Relevant legislation may include a general law on the civil service, and/or a general law on the public service, and the labour law if it applies to temporary employment in the public service. Special legislation regulating specific groups of public servants, if it exists, is not considered. Specific regulations regarding top management positions in the public service, if they exist, are not considered. Review of legislation on recruitment and selection procedures for temporary jobs in the public service. Recruitment and selection for temporary jobs may follow different, more simplified procedures than for permanent public servants, but they must fulfil the following elements: a. They are transparent, namely, vacancies are publicly announced and include the number of positions, the description of tasks and responsibilities, the required profile to perform the job, work conditions, and the recruitment procedure. b. They are professionally managed by human resource staff or selection panels without political or other undue interference (i.e., political appointees cannot sit in selection panels or appoint members of a selection panel). c. The selection is based on the description of the tasks and responsibilities, and the required profile of the candidates to perform the job. d. The assessment of candidates is conducted by staff with qualifications and experience in selection (i.e., human resource staff with experience in selection, external selection experts or firms, experts from the same profession of the vacancy with expertise in selection).

There is no legal possibility to transform a temporary contract into a regular public service contract

Public administration monitors the use of temporary employment in the public service

Review of reports available on temporary employment in the public service in the central government administration (reports and data on the topic may be a stand-alone document, or they may be part of a broader report on the public service). The analysis must determine whether temporary employment in the public service in the central government administration is monitored including at least the following elements: a. Number and share of temporary employment from total employment in the central government administration (total and by public body). b. Data on the number of temporary contracts by ground (e.g. replacement of temporary absent staff due to parental leave, sick leave, temporary transfers and similar situations, or a temporary increase in the workload). c. Information on the length of temporary contracts. Reports on temporary employment may also include other data, e.g., on the number of temporary contracts by recruitment procedure, or by function performed or type of tasks. Elements a, b and c must be fulfilled to score points.