200. Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments and other Officers responsible
in relation to the following matters are advised to study the relevant provisions
of the Constitution of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of Fiji, the Public
Service Decree, 1990, and Regulations of Service Commissions, and other instructions
which bear on the administration of the Public Service.
Orders and Regulations
201. All Officers are subject to :-
(a) General Orders, Finance Instructions, Supplies and Services Instructions
and any other Order or Instruction issued from time to time.
(b) Such special conditions as may, in addition, be prescribed in their letters
of appointment.
Authority for Appointments
202. Appointments to Public Offices are made by, or under the authority of,
the appropriate Service Commission.
Medical Examination and Police Report
203. (a) Before a letter of appointment is issued a candidate selected for
appointment must undergo medical examination and be passed as being in all
respects physically and mentally fit by an authorized Medical Officer.
(c) He must have a satisfactory police record.
Effective Date of Appointment
204. (a) Officers appointed from overseas--the date of appointment is the
date of embarkation for Fiji, subject to the limitations specified in the
contract.
(b) Officers appointed in Fiji--the date of appointment is the date on which
the Officer assumes duty.
Advertising of Vacancies
205. Vacant posts will normally be advertised in the Fiji Public Service
Official Circular and the press if considered appropriate. When an Officer
applies for any vacancy, whether advertised or not, he should send his application
through his Permanent Secretary or Head of Department.
Specific Information Required for Certain Appointments
206. A Permanent Secretary or Head of Department recommending the appointment
or re-appointment of any person who :
(a) Has previously been employed in Government Service and has been dismissed
or called upon to resign therefrom.
(b) Has been convicted of a criminal offence.
(c) Has Previously been employed in Government Service and had been deemed
to have resigned or was terminated under Regulation 34(2) of PSC (Constitution)
Regulations 1990.
(d) Has retired from Government Service.
(e) Is a close relative (husband, wife, son, daughter, father, mother, brother
or sister) of a Minister or Senior Officer (holder of an office for which
the maximum salary exceeds the maximum salary for Grade PH03) of a Ministry/Department
which it is proposed to appoint him.
shall submit full details in respect of such matters with his recommendation
to the Commission.
Probationary Appointment
207. Period of Probation-- An Officer on appointment to the Public Service
shall be required to serve on probation for a period of one year provided
that the Commission may at any time in writing, confirm or annul the appointment
to the Public Service of any probationer (see Regulation 21 of PSC (Constitution)
Regulations 1990).
Waiver of Portion of Period of Probation
208. Where an Officer is promoted before he has completed the full period
of probation, the unserved portion of his period of probation shall be deemed
to be waived and his appointment to the Service shall be deemed to be confirmed.
(See Regulation 22 of PSC (Constitution) Regulations 1990).
Extension of Period of Probation
209. The Secretary for the Public Service may extend an Officer's period
of probation for a period not exceeding six months, subject to the provisions
under Regulations 23, 24 and 25 of the PSC (Constitution) Regulations 1990.
Termination of Probationary Appointment
210. The Commission may at any time terminate an Officer's probationary appointment
subject to the provisions under Regulations 23, 24 and 25 of the PSC (Constitution)
Regulations, 1990.
Confirmation at end of Probationary Period
211. On the recommendation of the Permanent Secretary or Head of Department,
the Secretary for the Public Service may approve an Officer' s confirmation
of appointment in accordance with Regulations 23 and 25 of the PSC (Constitution)
Regulations 1990.
Training of Officers on Probation
212. During the period of probation the Officer should be regarded as being
on trial with a view to learning his work and being tested as to his suitability
for it. He should, therefore, not only be given all possible facilities for
acquiring experience of his duties, but should be kept under continual and
sympathetic observation and, so far as is practicable should not be posted
where such observation is impossible. It is the responsibility of Permanent
Secretaries and Heads of Departments to pay special attention to the training
of Officers on probation. If at any time during the period of probation the
Officer should exhibit tendencies which render it in any way doubtful that
he will be suitable for confirmation in his appointment, he should at once
be warned in writing and given such assistance as may he possible to correct
the faults.
Retirement of Female Officers on Marriage
213. (a) The appropriate Commission may require pensionable female officers
to retire on marriage as provided in Section 15 of the Law Remission (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Act, 1')75, but they will be re-appointed to the Service after
a break of at least one clay and will then become subject to the Fiji National
Provident Fund Act. For the purposes of long service leave, the Officer's
entire service from the dare of her first appointment will be counted.
(b) It is not necessary for a permanent female officer who is a member of
the Fiji National Provident Fund to resign on marriage. She will continue
as a permanent officer but she must advise her Head of Department of the date
of her marriage and provide relevant particulars.
Confidential Reports
214. Reports to be full and candid - It is essential for the general efficiency
of the Service that confidential reports on Officers should be detailed and
candid. Reporting Officers should realize that their own capabilities are
discernible from the reports they write on their subordinates, bearing in
mind that they hold their offices by virtue as much of administrative as of
professional or technical ability. If a Reporting Officer submits a report
which is not sufficiently informative Permanent Secretary or Head of Department
should explain to him where and in what way the report is deficient, suggest
ways in which it might be improved and, if necessary, require him to re-write
it.
215. Communication of Reports to Officers - Confidential Reports will not
be shown to the Officers on whom they are written. But the substance of the
report made on an Officer' s work or conduct included in a report will be
conveyed to him by the Officer instructed to do so, and this will be done
at an interview, to be followed by a brief memorandum, a copy of which will
be attached to the report. Before any Reporting Officer begins to fill in
a report, he must study the current Resignation Circular instructions on procedure.
Communications to an Officer of this nature should, if at all possible, be
couched in sympathetic terms and with the object of encouraging and enabling
him to overcome his shortcomings
Submission of Annual Confidential Reports
216. (a) Reports will be prepared annually on all Officers including those
serving on temporary or contract terms who now come within the provisions
of G.O. 220 below. They will be on the prescribed form, G.P. 36, and the Permanent
Secretary or Head of Department will arrange that they are submitted to him
completed, or in time for him to complete by the date prescribed by the Secretary
for the Public Service.
(b) The reports for Officers in Accounting cadre are to be forwarded to the
Permanent Secretary for Finance; for those in Stores cadre to the Controller
of Government Supplies and for all other Officers in common-user cadre to
the Secretary for the Public Service by the prescribed dates.
217. Submission of Reports, Heads of Departments -Heads of Departments should
complete Part 1 only of confidential report forms in respect of themselves,
and submit them to their Permanent Secretary who will complete them and forward
them to the appropriate Commission. In the case of Heads of Departments who
are Supervising Officers, reports should be submitted to the Secretary for
the Public Service.
218. Submission of Reports by Officers proceeding on Leave -Officers who
will be on leave at the time when confidential reports are due to be submitted
must complete Part I of their own confidential report forms before they proceed
on leave, and deposit the forms with the appropriate Reporting Officer.
219. Officers on Study Leave-In the case of Officers on study leave for extended
periods, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments should ensure that
a statement is placed in the Officer' s confidential file referring to his
absence and to the non-submission of reports.
220. Progress Reports on Officers serving on Probation - Progress reports
on Officers who have yet to be confirmed in their appointments should be prepared
and submitted twice, the first report due after six months to the appropriate
Commission and the second report due one month before the expiry of the probationary
period.
221. Supplementary Confidential Report -In the case of Officers appointed
from Overseas on contract, a supplementary confidential report may be requested
from the Heads of Departments by the Secretary for the Public Service on expiry
of the contract for transmission to the appropriate employing agencies.
Resignation
222. (a) Officers who have been confirmed to the permanent establishment
must, if` they wish to resign, give not less than 30 consecutive days notice
of their intention, in order that other arrangements may be made for the filling
of their posts. The period of notice of resignation should exclude any annual
and long service leave due to an Officer before resignation. Unless approved
by the Commission, an Officer who resigns without giving 30 consecutive days
notice may be required to pay 30 days salary in lieu of notice.
(b) Officers serving on contract should, if the wish to resign before the
normal term of their contract, give such notice as is required by the terms
of their contract.
(c) On resignation, an Officer forfeits all the rights and privileges of
his office, save as otherwise provided in these General Orders.
(d) An Officer who is deemed to have resigned or terminated under the provisions
of Regulations 34 (2) of PSC (Constitution) Regulations 1990 shall forfeit
all the rights and privileges of his office from the date decided by the Commission.
(e) Resignation of an Officer serving a bond shall not he accepted by Permanent
Secretaries and Heads of Departments until bond obligations are fulfilled.
Retirement
223. (a) This General Order applies to Officers serving under the Pensions
Act 1983.
(b) The compulsory retirement age from the Service will be 55 years, except
that :
(i) On or after attaining the age of 45 years an Officer may retire with the
approval of the Public Service Commission provided that the Officer must give
six months' notice of his intention to retire. In exceptional circumstances
the Commission may, in its discretion, accept a shorter period of notice.
(ii) On or after attaining the age of 45 years, and provided that he has
completed the minimum length of set-vice needed to qualify him for a pension,
an Officer may be compulsorily retired by the appropriate Service Commission
provided that the Officer must be given six months' notice of the intention
so to retire him. Provided that in the case of an Officer appointed on or
after 1 January 1966, the age of 50 years shall be substituted for the age
of 45 years in (i) and (ii) above.
(iii) A female Officer will normally be required to retire on marriage (see
G.O. 213).
(c) Any Officer may, in special circumstances, and with the approval of the
appropriate Service Commission be allowed to remain in the Service after he
has attained the age of 55 years.
(d) The provisions of this General Order, except in so far as they relate
to retirement at an Officer's own request, shall not apply to Judges of the
High Court.
(e) An Officer who has been found by a Medical Board constituted under General
Order 1007 to be medically unfit for further service, may he called upon to
retire.
Reporting on Officers about to Reach Retiring Age
224. (a) Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments shall notify the
Secretary for the Public Service six months before they reach the compulsory
retiring age or four months prior to their proceeding on leave which would
be immediately followed by their attaining the compulsory retiring age, whichever
is the earlier.
(b) Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments shall send to the Secretary
for the Public Service on or before the 15th September in each year a list
of the Officers in their Ministries/ Departments, who will reach the compulsory
retiring age during the next calendar year and of serving Officers who have
reached or passed the compulsory retiring age. In addition, they shall specifically
bring to the notice of the Secretary for the Public Service each case where
an Officer is due for leave and will reach the compulsory retiring age during
the course of his leave.
APPENDIX II--1
GOVERNMENT OF FIJI
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
Name of Officer:
Date of Birth:
Position held and Department:
Period of Service: From: To:
Reason for leaving Service:
Efficiency:
General conduct:
-------------------------- -------------------------------------
Head of Department Secretary for the Public Service
Date: Date:
(Efficiency and general conduct should be assessed Very Good, Good, Fair
or Poor).
Such notifications must be submitted to the Secretary for the Public Service
not less than four months before the Officer is due to go on leave. In each
case, the Permanent Secretary or Head of Department should submit a recommendation
whether the Officer should retire or whether his service should be retained.
If the recommendation is for the retention of an Officer beyond the compulsory
retiring
age, full reasons must he given.
Certificates of Service
225. Standard Form:-
(a) An Officer holding a permanent post, who upon relinquishing his appointment
of wishes to be furnished with a Certificate of Service, will be provided
with a Certificate in the form illustrated in Appendix II--1.
(b) . No form of testimonial other than the above-mentioned Certificate may
he given to an Officer relinquishing his appointment, except with the prior
permission of the Secretary for the Public Service
(c) A Certificate as at (a) above may be given to a Temporary Officer with
not less than one year's service, if he so requests relinquishing his appointment.
The Certificate of Service should be signed by Heads of Departments and referred
to the Secretary for the Public Service for counter signature.