Modern Model Career of European Civil Servants By Enrico Calossi, PhD Pisa University

Definition of Civil Service First use: East India Company to distinguish the civilian from the military personnel. British context: The remunerated personnel other than those serving in the armed forces, whose functions are to administer policies formulated by or approved by National governments (Bogdanor 1987). General definition: mediating institutions that mobilize human resources in the service of the affairs of the State in a given territory. Civil servants are different to contract servants, who works as consultant for a short period or who works for a company owned by the State (they work under the private sector law).

Three Aspects Civil Service as 1. Personnel Systems 2. Governance Institution 3. Symbol System

Features of Modern Model Career of European Civil Servants

Access to the civil service Concours: written and/oral texts periodically held to create a recruitment list (Belgium, France, Spain, etc…) Calls: held for vacant posts (ex. Germany, Austria, UK)

Access to the civil service Announcement of vacancies: journal (ex. Wiener Zeitung, Moniteur Belge, Journal Officiel); within the administrations; up to each institutions (Finland, UK, Sweden); others Admission requirements: language proficiency, education, full citizenship rights, military obligations, specific age limits, physical aptitude.

Access to the civil service Example: AGE requirements Max Limits: Belgium: 50; Austria: 40; France: from 27 to 45; Germany: 32; etc… Min Limits: most of States: 18, Danmark: 20; Luxembourg : from 19 to 25

Career development, internal promotion and mobility Career Development: Different Levels: Austria: 9 levels; Belgium: 19 leves; Luxemburg: 3 kinds of career. Promotion by internal concours (France), calls, seniority (Portugal). Mobility: compulsory vs voluntary; geographical, professional and/or functional

Training of civil service staff Categories of Training: a. prior to recruitment b. Initial general training c. Job specific training after recruitment d. Further training (throught the whole career of the official).

Training of civil service staff Kind of… Compulsory, voluntary, condition for promotion Who is the trainer? Special national school (France: ENA), local agencies, same institutions Aims: a. contribute to the implementation of administrative reform and modernisation Adaptation to the Europeanization process

Management of Performance, Competence and Potential 1. Rating: presentation, dress, politeness, clarity of expression 2. Evaluation of outputs: number of cases dealt with 3. Evaluation of performance: quantitative and qualitative indicators 4. Evaluation of competences: analysis of tasks and profiles of posts 5. Evaluation of potential: managerial potential, negotiation skills

Remuneration of Civil Servants Composition of remunaration: Basic salary Holiday and end-of-day allowances: ex. “Christmas Bonus” (Germany)  92% of basic salary Social allowances: ex. Belgium: extra-money for child’s birth; “local cost of living” Functional allowances: to whom accepts extra- funtioncs exceding his/her grade. Performance allowances: achievement of certain goals Extrahours: difficul in many contries, forbidden in Spain

Working Time in the Civil Service Full time vs Flexibility Full time: Portugal (35 hs) to Luxembourg (40). In Ireland and UK: 41hs, meals included Flexibility: Flexibility in working hours In the length of working life Contractual flexibility Flexibility in the location of work Task flexibility Pay flexibility

Working Time in the Civil Service Flexibility in working hours: Part-time Job-sharing Flexitime Flexibile daily hours Flexibile weekly hours Working time allocated over a year Overtime Night and week end work  general trend: individualization of working time

Pension Systems and the Reform Process Questions: When? And how much? When? Effective age + years of work. Possibile age to retire (Germany: 65, Sweden: 60) Obligatory age to retire (Sweden, Portugal :65) How much? a. on the age of retirement b. Typology of calculation system Budgeted System VS Funded System

Social Dialogue in Civil Services Ancient approach: Unilateral Wage Determination by the State Collective agreements: between whom? Centralised (France, Germany, Spain) VS decentralised dialogue (UK, Finland, Sweden) Right to strike: in general Yes, no in Germany and Austria

Equal Opportunities EU principle “equal pay for equal work”. Is that enough? NO!! Different needs for women and men:  Women: burden of work and family work. Solutions: pregnance and motherood guarantees, day nurseries and childcare facilities, lower age for retirement, explicit reservation of posts for women (different maximum age for recruitment), time work flexibility

Features of Modern Model Career of European Civil Servants 1. Access to the civil service 2. Career development, internal promotion and mobility 3. Training of civil service staff 4. Personnel Appraisal System: from Assessment to the 5. Management of Performance, Competence and Potential 5. Remuneration of Civil Servants 6. Working Time in the Civil Service 7. Pension Systems and the Reform Process 8. Social Dialogue in Civil Services 9. Equal Opportunities