I propose to take Questions Nos. 120 and 121 together.
I have responsibility for matters relating to pay and appointment in the civil service. In general it is policy for staff in the civil service to progress on incremental salary scales on the basis of a single point, subject to both satisfactory attendance and performance criteria being met. The award of an increment ordinarily falls for consideration on an annual basis.
The Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 came into effect on 14 July 2003. Since that date the provisions of the Act have been applied to the pay of fixed-term workers employed in the civil service. Specifically, people appointed to civil service grades in a temporary capacity are placed on the same payscale as a “comparable permanent employee”. Section 2 of the Act states that a “permanent employee” means an employee who is not a fixed-term employee.
Such fixed-term workers have all the service under temporary contracts at the same grade aggregated for the purposes of incremental progression. In the event that a fixed-term employee obtains a permanent appointment in the same grade, the fixed term service should be used in calculating the point of scale.
An appointee to a post in the civil service (either permanent or fixed-term) who has had previous service in the civil service, or elsewhere in the public service, may be entitled to incremental credit in respect of that service. Incremental credit as it applies in the Civil Service is based on industrial relations agreements concluded between management and staff. The scheme of incremental credit for Clerical Officer/Executive Officer grades is the subject of a collective agreement reached at General Council and the terms are set out in Circular 21/2004 and General Council Report 1443 both of which are available on www.circulars.gov.ie “
The pay of an officer who transfers from the HSE to the Civil Service depends on the terms of the transfer. An officer who is redeployed to the civil service under agreements made with staff representative bodies may, in certain circumstances, carry the pay scale for the position.
An officer who transfers to a post on foot of an open recruitment competition transfers on the terms of service prescribed by the competition including starting pay. The conditions regarding incremental credit may also apply if the officer has previous qualifying service in a public service body.
A currently serving officer who transfers to an analogous grade on foot of an open competition may enter the pay scale at a point equivalent to the existing salary under a policy that was adopted on 30 November 2015.