Workforce Management

Managing State Service employment on behalf of
the Premier as the Employer, through high-quality
policy, programs and governance arrangements.

INVESTIGATIONS

Code of Conduct

In 2020-21 there were 105 allegations of breaches of the Code of Conduct (Section 9 of the Act), being investigated in line with the provisions of Employment Direction No. 5: Procedures for the Investigation and Determination of whether an employee has breached the Code of Conduct.

Of the 35 that were finalised during the period, 25 breaches were identified and sanctions were imposed that included counselling, formal reprimands, reduction in classification, fines, and termination of employment. The remaining cases were either resolved with no breach found, finalised through other means, or were carried forward into the 2021-22 period.

Suspension of Employees

Employment Direction No. 4: Procedure for the Suspension of State Service Employees with or without Pay, sets out the basic procedural requirements for the suspension of a State Service employee by a Head of Agency who has reasonable grounds to believe it is in the public interest.

Across the State Service in the 2020-21 financial year, a total of 59 employees were suspended during the course of investigations into alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct.

Inability

Six agencies reported investigations into alleged inability of an employee to perform their duties, in line with Employment Direction No. 6: Procedures for the Investigation and Determination of whether an employee is able to efficiently and effectively perform their duties.

A total of 19 cases were under investigation in 2020-21 which included those carried forward from 2019-20. Eight investigations were finalised in 2020-21. Of the cases finalised, three were found to be unable to perform their duties and resulted in termination or resignation of the employee. The remaining unresolved cases were carried forward into the 2021-22 period.

Terminations

Section 44(3) of the State Service Act 2000 provides a number of grounds on which an employee’s employment may be terminated. In 2020-21, a total of eight terminations were reported across three agencies, which is the same as that reported in 2019-20.

GRIEVANCES

Internal grievances

Employees are able to raise grievances or matters with their agency under the agency’s grievance management process. In 2020-21, a total of 204 formal grievances were reported across eight agencies, which is an increase from 178 grievances across 10 agencies in 2019-20.

The nature of the grievances lodged included work performance issues, employee conflicts, allegations of misconduct, management decisions, bullying and/or harassment, and sexual harassment. Where these grievances were resolved, actions taken included mediation, counselling, additional training, lawful direction, and coaching. The following table shows the outcome of all formal grievances reported in 2020-21, compared to 2019-20.¹⁷

Bullying and/or Harassment and Sexual Harassment

Of the formal grievances raised through agency grievance management processes in 2020-21, 44 related to allegations of bullying and/or harassment, and a further nine related to allegations of sexual harassment. A total of 22 grievances relating to bullying and/or harassment and five relating to sexual harassment were resolved. The remaining unresolved grievances were carried forward into the 2021-22 year.

External grievances

In 2020-21, a total of 12 grievances were taken to external organisations (six to Equal Opportunity Tasmania, five to the Tasmanian Industrial Commission and one to the Integrity Commission), these grievances included matters referred by employees that were referred back to the agency for investigation. Matters referred related to management decisions, discrimination, conflict of interest, and bullying and/or harassment.¹⁸

EMPLOYMENT DETERMINATIONS

Determinations by SSMO

In 2020-21, a number of matters were referred to SSMO for determination using the powers of the Employer under the Act, in line with relevant Employment Directions (EDs)¹⁹, and Practices, Procedures and Standards (PPSs)²⁰. The following table shows the requests made during this period and their status as at 30 June 2021.

Determinations by Heads of Agencies

Fixed-term employees who meet the provisions of Clause 13 of ED1 may apply to their Head of Agency to have duties they are performing advertised for filling on a permanent basis, in accordance with the ED.

The power of the Employer to change the employment status of a fixed-term employee to permanent under Section 37(4) of the Act is delegated to Heads of Agencies, and exercised in accordance with the provisions of ED1. In addition, this power extends to the Head of Agency of the Department of Education to change the employment status of eligible fixed-term teachers who meet the requirements of Employment Direction No.9: Change of Employment Status of Fixed-term Teachers to Permanent (ED9).

The following table sets out the number of determinations approved by Heads of Agencies in 2020-21.

MANAGING PERFORMANCE

Performance management systems provide a framework for regular, constructive discussions that create a link between the performance and development of employees and officers and the agency’s business requirements. In 2020-21, agencies reported approximately 16,844 employees participated in a performance management process representing 50.41% of the State Service workforce. This was an increase from 11,703 in 2019-20 (36.57% of the State Service workforce).

Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) provide additional support to employees in meeting performance measures, by providing a structured plan that can include additional training, supervision, role clarification, or a skills review. In 2020-21, there were 15 PIPs in place (a decrease from 28 in 2019-20) and a total of 18 were completed in the period (this includes PIPs carried forward from 2019-20).

^{17. The average number of formal grievances managed internally each year for the five years to 2021 was 159.}

^{18. The average number of grievances managed externally each year for the five years to 2021 was 36.}

^{19. http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/ssmo/employment_directions}

^{20. http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/ssmo/employment_policy/practices,_procedures_and_standards}

^{21. Currently approved fixed-term and casual employment registers can be viewed on the www.jobs.tas.gov.au website.}

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