Redeployment 2013

Allow Redeployment

The purpose of the 2013 Act is to amend the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 to:

• provide for the removal of legislative barriers to redeployment and mobility within the public service by
  • broadening the definition of public service body to encompass all public service employers except commercial State bodies and their subsidiaries;
  • empowering the Public Appointments Service (PAS) to designate an existing employee of a public service body for redeployment to a comparable post in another such body;
  • providing that redeployment is to be on no less favourable conditions in relation to basic pay and pension;
  • making provision for the continuity of service for redeployees for certain statutory purposes such as the Redundancy Acts, Unfair Dismissal Act, Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, Parental Leave Act etc;
  • removing any impediments under the Data Protection Acts to the transfer of personal information to the PAS, or to another public service body, for the purpose of redeployment to that body;
• provide for the removal of the existing exemption,), from the general provisions of the Principal Act in respect of the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) appointments, to bring these within the ambit of the Act; and
• empower the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to make Regulations providing for the payment of remuneration to a public servant during a period of sick

The provisions of the Act will come into force on enactment.

Role of PAS

The Public Appointments Service (PAS) has the redeployment functions set out in the 2013 Act

The 2013 Act specifies how certain terms are to be interpreted for the purpose of Part 6A. It provides a broader definition of ‘‘public service body’’ than applies in respect of the recruitment and appointments functions of the PAS, to encompass all public service employers except commercial State bodies and their subsidiaries. It provides that a person designated by the PAS for redeployment to a position in another public service body shall be appointed to that position.

It enables the 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.

Terms no Less Favourable

The 2013 Act provides that redeployment is to be on no less favourable conditions in relation to basic pay  and pension (except in relation to fast accrual arrangements).  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.

It provides for the transfer of the 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 as those accruing under the Redundancy Acts, Unfair Dismissals Act, Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, Parental Leave Act etc.

The Act 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 the person is being assigned to; the terms of any policy of the Minister and collective agreements relating to the mobility or redeployment of public service employees; and the methods of recruitment and selection applying to public servants generally.

Precluded from Redeployment

The 2013 Act sets out details of those who are precluded from redeployment by the PAS. These are holders of political, judicial and constitutional posts, Presidential and Government appointees, as well as special advisers, members of the Permanent Defence Force, an Garda Siochana, 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.

Sick Pay

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform may make Regulations providing for the payment of sick leave remuneration.

The Minister may  make provision for the payment of sick leave remuneration by Regulation. The Minister may determine the rate of pay that should apply during a period of sick leave and the length of time for which a person should be paid. No sick leave remuneration will be paid where an individual has exhausted the sick leave limits. The Regulations may provide for the payment of sick leave remuneration for a longer period of time and at a higher percentage rate in exceptional cases.

In making Regulations, the Minister must have regard to certain principles and policies. These are the need to limit the circumstances in which financial resources are committed to paying individuals when the public service does not have the benefit of their services; the resources available to the Exchequer to pay public servants; the obligations of the State under the Fiscal Stability Treaty; the need to have a means of verifying that an individual is unable to come to work due to illness or injury; and the need to protect the health of public servants.

The Minister may delegate certain decisions in relation to sick leave to a public service body. Such decisions may include whether an illness or injury is of a serious nature, what the appropriate rehabilitation period might be and what constitutes medical certification. The Minister may make different provisions for different groups of public servants and different types of situations. There were transitional arrangements that will apply where an individual is already on a period of sick leave when Part 7A was commenced.