Government workers who are rated “unsatisfactory” twice in a row, a grade that is no longer negative (-1) and becomes zero, will continue to be subject to a disciplinary investigation procedure, as provided for in the General Labor Act in Public Positions, according to the project from the government to review the Integrated Management and Performance Assessment System in Public Administration (SIADAP) to which Dinheiro Vivo had access.
For example, in Article 53 of the proposal for the new evaluation system, with regard to the indication of “unsatisfactory”, a new number is added with the following wording: “The granting of two successive unsatisfactory performance evaluations implies the determination, by the top manager of the service, of a special disciplinary investigation process, under the terms of the general law on employment in public functions”. SIADAP does not currently refer to what is already provided for in that diploma.
To understand the reasons that led the Executive to include this point, the DV questioned the Ministry of the Presidency, which oversees the civil service, which preferred to clarify for a future phase of the negotiations with the unions: “Having now started the union negotiations on this issue, we will not find answers that, given the evaluation/reflection that is always necessary after listening to the workers’ representatives, will prove out of touch with reality in the near future. “
One of the possible justifications may lie in the fact that Article 232 of Law No. 35/2014 of June 20 mentions that the disciplinary procedure is initiated in the case of “two consecutive negative performance evaluations”, without mentioning neutral evaluations. “When an employee with a public employment relationship has obtained two consecutive negative performance reviews, the top manager of the agency or service institutions shall mandate and immediately initiate an investigation,” the same text reads. However, the grade “fail”, which is currently deducted by one point (-1) for career development purposes, will become zero, according to the government’s draft diploma. That is, within the framework of the new SIADAP, employees with two digits followed by a fail, which is worth zero, could escape this investigation into the reasons that led them to receive such poor grades, if the legislature in the new assessment would not specify a regime that would continue to subject these employees to the same disciplinary procedure.
“The investigative process is designed to determine whether the performance warranting these assessments constitutes a disciplinary violation attributable to the employee being evaluated for culpable violation of functional duties, namely the duty of care,” in accordance with the General Labor Code. But this provision “does not apply to holders of managerial or equivalent positions”, safeguarding the same diploma.
The directors will also be evaluated, within the framework of the SIADAP, and may be exempted from sanctions, including the termination of the service commission, i.e. the loss of office, if they do not achieve the objectives, a measure already foreseen in the current SIADAP. However, state unions have warned that they are not aware of any case where a leader lost his job as a result of a negative review.
On the other hand, the SIADAP review project provides incentives for the excellence of the departments and their leaders. The proposal again recognizes that 20% of each ministry’s services can be rated as excellent, allowing an increase in budget allocation to compensate for advancement and bonuses for its employees. However, it does not resume the 10% increase in the quota of employees eligible for the award of grades of relevant or very good (two points) and excellent (three points), a measure that came into effect in 2011 with the arrival of the troika.
Manager bonuses between 1800 and 3000 euros
In addition, 20% of the senior managers who are part of the services considered excellent are entitled to an award of up to three thousand euros per year, as part of the annual assessment. Senior directors of the first degree, with the maximum degree, receive an annual check of three thousand euros, a bonus that drops to €2,550 for senior directors of the second degree.
Irrespective of the assessment of services, 30% of middle managers will also be entitled to an annual bonus allocated through quota: 15% of directors will be considered “good”, which will earn them a check of 1500 euros; 15% qualify for the “very good” rating, which translates into a price of 2250 euros; and 5% can be “excellent” and earn compensation between 2400 and 1800 euros, depending on the grade in the hierarchy.
The new SIADAP, which moves from semi-annual to annual appraisal cycles, includes approximately 484,000 civil servants who are assessed on a points system, representing approximately 65% of the state’s 745,000 employees. The revision of the appraisal system, proposed by the manager, reduces the number of progress points: instead of 10, only eight will be needed to jump into the payroll function. In addition, an intermediate class is created, called good, which gives 1.4 points, which can be attributed to a quarter of the workers. These combined changes will accelerate progression by an average of four to six years. The new regime is expected to enter into force in January 2025 and come into force in 2026.
Salomé Pinto is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
