| 1. |
The Minister for Public Service and Administration (MPSA) has, with effect from 1 January 2006, issued a determination on the introduction of an Employee-Initiated Severance Package (EISP).
|
| 2. |
APPLICABILITY OF THE DETERMINATION
|
| 2.1 |
The determination is applicable to all employees appointed permanently in terms of the Public Service Act, 1994, as amended, but excludes persons who are appointed temporarily or on a fixed-term contract.
|
| 2.2 |
A determination is still awaited from the National Minister of Education as to whether the EISP will be made applicable to educator personnel.
|
| 3. |
PURPOSE OF THE DETERMINATION
|
| 3.1 |
The determination is intended to allow employees affected by transformation and restructuring and who wish to exit the public service, to apply for an employee-initiated severance package, which if approved, will require the employee to resign voluntarily from the public service.
. |
| 3.2 |
The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has provided the following enlightenment on what is meant by “employees affected by transformation and restructuring:
Transformation
“ … relates to circumstances where there is a need to change the nature, function or condition of an employee’s continued employment to give effect to the principles for public administration as contained in Section 195 of the Constitution, 1996. In practice, such circumstances will typically relate to the following:
The improvement of the effective utilisation of resources
The equitable provision of public services
The establishment of a representative workforce”
Restructuring
“relates to circumstances where an employee’s continued employment has become undesirable due to the following:
|
| 4. |
APPLICATION OF THE DETERMINATION
Only employees affected by transformation and restructuring may apply to resign voluntarily from the public service on the basis of the employee-initiated severance package, as set out in the attached Annexure EISP.
|
| 5. |
CRITERIA FOR CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS
|
| 5.1 |
When the executing authority (or delegate) receives an application, he/she must decide whether or not to support the application.
|
| 5.2 |
In considering the application, the following criteria must, as a minimum, be taken into account:
|
| 5.2.1 |
The impact of the employee’s exit from the department on its service delivery capabilities.
|
| 5.2.2 |
The employee’s competence and suitability for continued employment.
|
| 5.2.3 |
The manner in which the employee’s exit will support the transformation and restructuring of the department.
|
| 5.2.4 |
The specific reasons for the employee’s request.
|
| 5.2.5 |
The ability of the department to finance the costs related to the payment of the severance package (e.g. refunding the Pension Fund, severance pay, leave pay, etc.).
|
| 5.2.6 |
The impact of the granting of the severance package on the morale of other employees.
|
| 5.2.7 |
Whether the employee occupies a post on the department’s establishment or whether the employee is held additional to the establishment.
|
| 6. |
NOTICE OF TERMINATION OF SERVICE
Upon receipt of notification of the approval of his/her application, an employee must give notice of resignation in accordance with the Public Service Regulations, 2001 (Chapter 1, Part VII G 2.3). The employee’s exit from the department must take effect within a period of two months after the date of the notice of the decision to approve his/her application.
|
| 7.1 |
Any case of misconduct or incapacity against an employee must first be finalised before his/her application can be considered.
|
| 7.2 |
If an application is refused, it is not necessary to refer the application to the DPSA.
|
| 7.3 |
If an application is refused, the grounds for refusal must be given in writing.
|
| 7.4 |
Employees must be informed of their right to take a decision on review. In this regard the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA), 2000, must be complied with.
|
| 8. |
BROAD FOCUS OF DECISIONING-MAKING CRITERIA
The broad focus of the criteria as set out in paragraph 5.2 above is finding a sound balance between the service delivery demands and transformation imperatives (employment equity with a view to a more representative workforce). The ministerial determination has as its primary foci continuity and stability in service delivery. It is therefore clear that not all applications can and will be favourably considered. A holistic approach will invariably have to be applied to ensure that valuable skills and expertise are not lost to the WCED. In this regard, it has been decided that, whilst employees may submit their applications for the severance package, the final decisions regarding these applications will only be taken once the outcome of the redesign process of the WCED is known.
|
| 9. |
EMPLOYEES ALREADY AFFECTED BY PREVIOUS RESTRUCTURING EXERCISES
All employees who have been declared in excess may apply for the severance package. Younger employees who wish to remain in service may exchange their excess status with an older employee who would prefer to exit the service. This exchange will, however, only be favourably considered if the employees are of the same rank and/or at the same station. If the employees, who wish to exchange their status, are not at the same stations, the stations must be within a reasonable distance from each other in order to facilitate the absorption of the excess staff member within the resultant vacancy.
|
| 10. |
PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS
Applications must be submitted as follows:
|
| 10.2 |
The application form (Annexure A) must be submitted to his or her line-manager (level of Director/Head of institution) for comments/recommendation. The line-manager must add his/her comments/recommendation at Section B of Annexure A.
|
| 10.3 |
The line-manager must submit the application form to the Personnel Office, which will be responsible for the further processing and co-ordination of all applications.
|
| 11. |
DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
The following decision-making processes have been stipulated in the determination of the MPSA:
|
| 11.1 |
The relevant Member of the Executive Council (MEC) (or delegate) must indicate whether he/she supports or does not support the application.
|
| 11.2 |
The MPSA (or delegate) must provide her/his comments with regard to each application.
|
| 11.3 |
The MEC (or delegate) must make a final decision.
|
| 12. |
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Attached is a list of frequently asked questions to further assist employees in this matter. (See attached Annexure B)
|
| 13. |
The directive of the MPSA and all the accompanying application documents was issued only in English. Copies of the documents in the other two official languages will be made available shortly.
|
| 14. |
Please ensure that all Public Service Act staff members are informed of the contents of this circular. Your co-operation in this regard is appreciated.
|
SIGNED: R.B. SWARTZ
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2006:06:15
|