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Overview of Managing Positions in the State Service (MPSS 2016)

Overview

The Objective: Right Size, Right Skills, Right Service

Managing Positions in the State Service is one element of the Government’s strategy to ensure our State Service is best placed to meet the needs of the Tasmanian community that only Government can satisfy.

This package is designed to ensure that the State Service:

  • delivers the right services to meet the needs of the community when these needs can only be satisfied by Government;
  • is lean and uses public resources as wisely and efficiently as possible to get the best return for Tasmania; and
  • has the right people, with the right skills and knowledge, in the right positions to deliver these services.

Getting to the Right Size, Right Skills, Right Service is about optimising the use of our financial resources and the deployment of our people. Agencies must be strategic and ensure they match positions to people with the right skill sets, develop and recruit people for the State Service of the future while maintaining workplace diversity.

The tools and strategic options

To achieve the Government’s objectives, and to support strict controls for filling positions, a range of strategic position management options are available. Heads of Agencies also have a suite of supporting tools which provide for redeployment, alternative employment, restructuring and voluntary redundancy.

Principles

Heads of Agencies are required to ensure that their agencies are operated as effectively, efficiently and economically as is practicable.

In so doing Heads of Agencies are to demonstrate:

  • Transparency;
  • Consistency;
  • Open communication;
  • Supportive to employees.

The State Service Management Office (SSMO) plays a key supporting role by developing tools to support reductions in employment costs, including facilitating whole of government redeployment processes.

Authority

Managing Positions in the State Service is issued by the Head of the State Service, under the authority of Section 15(1)(b) of the State Service Act 2000.

Application

This Package applies to all State Service agencies and organisations with permanent employees, who are employed in accordance with the State Service Act 2000, and the Police Service Act 2003.

Reporting

Heads of Agencies are to report on their implementation of Managing Positions in the State Service, to the Head of the State Service. SSMO will coordinate this reporting.

The Strategic Options

Heads of Agencies can adopt a range of strategies to reduce their employment costs.

Strategic Option 1: Reviewing agency services

Strategically reviewing agency services can assist agencies to realise sustainable and systematic efficiencies. This process will identify functions which may no longer be a priority to deliver, or which can be delivered at a lower level under tight fiscal constraints.

Strategic Option 2: Re-profiling and redesigning the workplace

Efficiency savings are not limited to reducing the number of positions. Efficiencies can also be made through reviewing the structure of positions and business units to ensure they are:

  • most effectively supporting the delivery of the activities;
  • attracting the right skills set now and into the future; and
  • reducing duplication of activities.

Strategic Option 3: Reviewing systems and processes

Agencies may identify opportunities to reduce employee related costs through business process reviews, implementation of new IT systems which streamline processes, larger scale restructures, and review of relevant legislation to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.

Where there is a reduction in the services provided, or efficiency improvements implemented, some employees may be left without duties. These employees may be either placed in other positions which have not been abolished or they may elect to leave the State Service.  MPSS provides tools for agencies to:

Increase the rate of natural attrition

Employees who do not have ongoing duties may be reassigned to alternative duties within their agency or via transfer to another agency, or be interested in accepting an incentive payment to leave State Service employment.

Agencies can also be more flexible when considering leave without pay applications, external secondments and reduction in working hours which will also increase the rate at which employees leave the agency/State Service, albeit for a temporary period.

Manage vacant positions

Through employee movement and natural attrition, positions will become vacant. New positions may also be needed to meet new Government initiatives. Agencies must manage Internal Agency Position Management and participate in State Service Vacancy Control processes to assist in filling positions within our existing workforce.

Every new vacancy is also an opportunity to consider:

  • whether there is a genuine need to fill that vacancy/create the new position;
  • the appropriateness of the role and classification;
  • if it creates an opportunity into which an existing employee may be redeployed;
  • suitability to target an employment group such as youth or graduates; and/or
  • need for the position to be filled on a full time basis.

Tools and Guidelines

Heads of Agencies are to ensure that their agency adheres to these processes, and do not fill duties in a manner which could be reasonably construed as frustrating the intent of these processes.

Implementation of the range of strategic options is supported by the following tools:

  • Internal Establishment Management, State Service Vacancy Control and redeployment;
  • Targeted and Negotiated Voluntary Redundancies; and
  • Workplace Renewal Incentive Program.

Reporting

On a monthly basis, agencies will provide the following information to SSMO, in a format that is defined by SSMO and may be varied from time to time:

  • Paid FTE at the last pay period of the month, split by permanent full time, permanent part time, fixed term and casual.
  • Details of ‘Identified employees’ including age, gender, classification, occupational group, suitability assessment referrals and outcomes and cessation details.
  • Details of each approved TNVR: payment amount including years of service quantum and any other payment, employee’s name, age, gender, classification, cessation date, employment exclusion period, position title and position number, recurrent savings and payback periods; approval date for business case and Deed of Release.
  • All positions abolished, including position title, position number, classification, name of last occupant, date last occupied, period occupied, abolition date and whether the last occupant received a TNVR.
  • WRIPs offered including details of divisions, branches and/or groups of employees eligible and the start and end dates of the offer period.
  • Details of each approved WRIP payment approved including payment amount, years of service, employee’s name, age, gender, classification, cessation date, employment exclusion period, position title and position number, re-profiling and filling action to be taken and timeframe for this.
  • Senior Executive Service FTEs and head counts (filled and vacant).
  • Full details of referrals for suitability assessments made, including employee name, position title and number, date of referral and assessment, outcome of assessment (permanent placement, trial placement, not suitable etc) and date finalised.

Heads of Agencies are also to ensure that detailed records of the following are maintained within their agency to enable reporting to be provided at any point in time and at short notice (48 hours) to Cabinet, Budget Committee, and SSMO and for any other approved purpose.

  • Approved FTE establishment, occupied FTE’s and paid FTEs.
  • Expressions of interest received for WRIP payments (pending approval/non approval).
  • Confirmed date of filling action taken in relation to a WRIP payment.

Transitional arrangements

Where negotiations are substantially underway, or offers were made to an employee for TNVR or WRIP prior to 11 April 2016, the MPSS (2014) guidelines are still to apply.

Definitions

Act

State Service Act 2000 unless otherwise specified.

Agency

Government department or a State authority or other organisation specified in Column 1 of Schedule 1 of the State Service Act 2000.

Case Manager

A person who has a thorough knowledge of Managing Positions in the State Service and State Service employment provisions and is able to effectively provide “Identified employees” with appropriate advice, guidance and support.

Director, SSMO

The Director, State Service Management Office. All functions and powers assigned in this document are under authorisation of the Head of the State Service and may also be executed by the Deputy Director, State Service Management Office.

Eligible vacancy

All vacancies for permanent appointment and fixed term vacancies of more than 12 months that are required to be advertised in the Gazette as provided by Employment Direction No 1. The Director, SSMO has discretion to extend the definition of “eligible vacancy” to include other vacancies to assist in the re-allocation of duties to “identified employees”.

Eligible vacancies do not include positions or occupational groups which have been approved by the Director, SSMO as being exempt from central vacancy control processes.

Heads of Agencies must ensure that vacancies are not approved for filling for a fixed term period to circumvent the State Service Vacancy Control process. All vacancies must be advertised for permanent appointment unless there is genuine justifiable reason to fill the vacancy for a specified period. The specified period must accurately reflect, as far as reasonably practicable, the expected duration of the vacancy.

Employment Exclusion Period

Means that the employee agrees not to seek or accept for a period as specified in the TNVR or WRIP Deed of Release:

any employment in any capacity with the Crown; or

any appointment as a consultant providing consultancy services to the Crown.

The Crown means the Crown in the Right of Tasmania and includes for the purposes of a TNVR or WRIP Deed of Release to include employment or appointment as outlined above for:

A Government department or a State authority or other organisation specified in Column 1 of Schedule 1 of the State Service Act 2000.

The Tasmanian Police Service.

Any member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly or Tasmanian Legislative Council.

The Excellency the Governor.

Head of Agency

The person holding the office specified in Column 2 of Schedule 1 of the State Service Act 2000 is, for the purposes of this document, the Head of that Agency.

Head of the State Service

As appointed under Section 20 of the State Service Act 2000. The Head of the State Service maintains powers and functions relating to this document, even when this function or power is delegated to another person.

Identified Employee

Is a person appointed as a permanent employee as referred to in Section 37(3)(a) of the State Service Act 2000 “the Act” who has been formally advised in writing that they will no longer be required or it is likely they will no longer be required to undertake the duties to which they have been assigned as from a specified date and the reason for the decision is a result of the position being identified for abolition due to a function no longer being required or the duties no longer being assigned to the position or the likelihood that this will occur.

Unless approved by the Director, SSMO that exceptional and special circumstance exist an “Identified employee” does not include:

A permanent employee who has been granted a period of leave without pay or is undertaking an arrangement including an assignment of duties, fixed term transfer, higher duties or secondment and the employee is not returning to the duties to which they were assigned prior to commencing leave or the arrangement; or

A permanent employee who is unable to undertake their assigned duties due to reasons of illness, injury, workers compensation, inability, code of conduct sanction, poor performance; or

A permanent employee who does not have assigned duties for any other reason.

Meaningful work

Is the assignment of alternative unfunded duties for a specified period. The duties are to be commensurate with the employee’s skill set and/or transferrable skills or will provide an opportunity for the employee to further develop their skills.

In providing employees with “meaningful work” the duties are to be assigned in accordance with Section 34(1) of the Act for a specified period.

Permanent employee

A person appointed as a permanent employee as referred to in Section 37(3)(a) of the State Service Act 2000.

Re-profiling

Means changes that cannot reasonably be achieved without providing the employee with a WRIP payment. Such changes include:

changing working arrangements and/or the way in which duties are undertaken;

reviewing and revising duties and/or the classification of duties;

recruiting an employee with a new set of skills, knowledge and experience including but not limited to diversity groups, youth, cadets or graduates; and

any other change in working arrangements and duties which does not meet the requirements for the provision of a TNVR payment.

Salary – for calculating TNVR payments

For the purposes of calculating TNVR payments salary is defined as:

  1. The classification salary point applicable to the employee’s permanent appointment at the time of separation.
  2. Any higher duties allowance or more responsible duties allowance as at the date of separation providing the employee has been in receipt of that allowance for a continuous period of at least 12 months.
  3. Any other award related allowances not provided above which the employee would receive if they were absent on recreation leave.

Salary maintenance

The maintaining of an employee’s salary for a period of 12 months where an “Identified employee” agrees to being assigned or transferred to duties at a lower or different classification level, which will result in the employee receiving a reduced award salary.

SSMO

State Service Management Office

State Service

Tasmanian State Service

Vacancy Control Representative

An agency Senior Human Resource Office who is to be the conduit between their agency, other agencies and SSMO in relation to State Service Vacancy Control and redeployment matters.

Years of Service

Means continuous full-time equivalent permanent or fixed term employment with the Crown subject to the following:

Permanent employment includes full-time and part-time employment.  Fixed term employment includes full-time, part-time and casual employment.

As defined in the Long Service Leave (State Employees) Act 1994 any break in service of not more than three months and/or any period of leave without pay in excess of twenty working days during the period of service is not deemed to affect continuity of service however it does not count towards calculating full-time equivalent years of service.

Periods of secondment outside the Tasmanian State Service greater than three months in duration (except with a public sector union under the provisions of a registered award or agreement) is not deemed to affect continuity of service but does not count towards calculating full-time equivalent years of service.

Any periods of employment with the Crown for which a previous redundancy, termination, severance or WRIP payment has been made does not count towards calculating the employee’s continuous full-time equivalent years of service.

In the case of a female employee who, as a requirement under State legislation prevailing at that time, was obliged to resign her employment with the Employing Authority due to marriage or childbirth, such previous continuous service shall be counted toward calculating full-time equivalent service. It is the responsibility of the employee to provide satisfactory evidence of their previous service.

The Director, SSMO may deem that ineligible service is to be counted towards calculating full-time equivalent service on receipt from a Head of Agency substantiating that exceptional circumstances exist or that a legal arrangement relevant to that service applied to the transfer of services or staff.

Full-time equivalent years of service means:

The employees hours of work during the period of continuous employment (including any periods of paid leave, leave without pay of less than 20 working days and additional hours but excluding any payment for hours worked as overtime or leave without pay exceeding 20 working days)

Divided by the ordinary full-time hours of work for the same period.

The Crown means the Crown in the Right of Tasmania as specified below:

A Government department or a State authority or other organisation specified in Column 1 of Schedule 1 of the State Service Act 2000.

The Tasmanian Police Service.

Any member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly or Tasmanian Legislative Council.

The Excellency the Governor.

Toolbox for HR staff

These documents are provided by the State Service Management Office to assist Human Resources Staff and Case Managers in the implementation of Managing Positions in the State Service 2016. They need to be read and used in conjunction with MPSS 2016. All other Agency employees should contact their manager or Human Resources branch with any questions regarding MPSS 2016.