The Civil Service Management Code sets out the central framework for management of the Civil Service.
Last updated - 11th March 2009
4.1.1 Civil servants are servants of the Crown and owe a duty of loyal service to the Crown as their employer. Since constitutionally the Crown acts on the advice of Ministers who are answerable for their departments and agencies in Parliament, that duty is, subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Code (http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/codes/cscode/index.asp) owed to the duly constituted Government.
4.1.2 The Minister for the Civil Service is responsible for the central framework, outlined in Sections 4.2 to 4.4, which governs the conduct of civil servants. Departments and agencies are responsible for defining the standards of conduct they require of their staff and for ensuring that these fully reflect the Civil Service Code and central framework.
4.1.3 The central framework derives from the need for civil servants to be, and to be seen to be, honest and impartial in the exercise of their duties. They must not allow their judgement or integrity to be compromised in fact or by reasonable implication. In particular:
4.1.4 Neither the Civil Service Code (http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/codes/cscode/index.asp) nor this central framework is comprehensive. It does not deal for example with such issues as isolated neglect of duty, failure to obey a reasonable instruction or other forms of misconduct which may properly be dealt with under disciplinary arrangements.
4.1.5 Departments and agencies must incorporate in the conditions of service of their staff the Civil Service Code (http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/codes/cscode/index.asp).
4.1.6 Departments and agencies must define the standards of conduct they require of their staff. They must:
4.2.1 Departments and agencies must remind staff on appointment, retirement or resignation that they are bound by the provisions of the criminal law, including the Official Secrets Acts, which protect certain categories of official information, and by their duty of confidentiality owed to the Crown as their former employer.
4.2.2 Under the terms of the Civil Service Code, civil servants must handle information as openly as possible within the legal framework. Government policy in this area is available via the website of the Ministry of Justice at. http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/guidancefoi.htm. Civil servants must not, without relevant authorisation, disclose official information which has been communicated in confidence within Government or received in confidence from others. It is an individual’s responsibility to ensure that any action which may require authorisation is properly authorised in advance.
4.2.3 Civil servants must continue to observe this duty of confidentiality after they have left Crown employment. 4.2.4 Civil servants must not take part in any activities or make any public statement which might involve the disclosure of official information or draw upon experience gained in their official capacity without the prior approval of their department or agency. They must clear in advance material for publication, broadcasts or other public discussion which draws on official information or experience. Civil servants should not accept payment for speeches, broadcasts, interviews etc or books, magazine articles etc written in an official capacity.
4.2.5 The Civil Service Code and Civil Service Management Code applies to your participation in social media and on-line activity see: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/codes/social_media/participation.asp
4.2.6 Civil servants must not seek to frustrate the policies or decisions of Ministers by the use or disclosure outside the Government of any information to which they have had access as civil servants.
4.2.7 Civil servants must not publish or broadcast personal memoirs reflecting their experience in Government, or enter into commitments to do so, whilst in Crown employment. The permission of the Head of their Department and the Head of the Home Civil Service must be sought before entering into a contractual commitment to publish such memoirs after leaving the service.
4.2.8 Proposed memoirs should be submitted in good time before any proposed publication date. In reviewing information for publication, the Head of Department and the Head of the Home Civil Service will have regard to whether the information could cause damage to international relations; national security or to the confidential relationships between Ministers, and between Ministers and civil servants. 4.2.9 Staff who are appointed to sensitive posts will, as a condition of taking up such a post, be taken to have assigned to the Crown, copyright in any future work which relates to their employment and/or which contains or relies upon official information which came into their knowledge or possession by virtue of their employment as a civil servant. Where permission to publish the work (or parts of it) is provided by the Head of their department and/or the Head of the Home Civil Service, the Crown will reassign copyright in the relevant part of the work. It is for individual departments to determine sensitive posts. In addition, information may also be subject to Crown copyright (see sections 4.2.14 to 4.2.19 below).
4.2.10 In discharging their duties under the Civil Service Code (see: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/iam/codes/cscode/index.asp), civil servants must maintain the long-standing conventions that Ministers and special advisers may not normally have access to papers of a previous Administration of a different political complexion. Further guidance is set out in the Cabinet Office publication The Directory of Civil Service Guidance at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety_and_ethics/civil_service/civil_service_guidance.aspx
4.2.11 Civil servants must not take part in their official capacities in surveys or research projects, even unattributably, if they deal with attitudes or opinions on political matters or matters of policy.
4.2.12 Civil servants who are elected national, departmental or branch representatives or officers of a recognised trade union need not seek permission before publicising union views on an official matter which, because it directly affects the conditions of service of members of the union as employees, is of legitimate concern to their members, unless their official duties are directly concerned with the matter in question. In all other circumstances they must conform to the standards set out above.
4.2.13 Civil servants in receipt of a leaked Select Committee report must not make any use of it nor circulate it further. They must return the report without delay to the Clerk of the relevant Committee, and only then may they inform their Ministers or Assembly Secretaries. Leaked reports from Committees of the devolved legislatures must be handled in the same way.
4.2.14 Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, works made by civil servants in the course of their official duties are subject to Crown copyright protection. The responsibility for the management and licensing of Crown copyright rests with the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) in her capacity as Queen’s Printer for works produced by UK Government departments, Northern Ireland departments and the Welsh Assembly Government. For works produced by the Scottish Administration, the responsibility for management and licensing rests with the Queen’s Printer for Scotland in accordance with the Scotland Act 1998. The Controller of HMSO, in her roles as Queen’s Printer, and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland, authorises the Information Policy team of the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) to manage and license the re-use of Crown Copyright on her behalf.
4.2.15 Civil servants must obtain the prior approval of their Head of Department or Agency Chief Executive before entering into any arrangements regarding the publication or dissemination of any Crown copyright protected material by private sector publishers or information providers. Such arrangements would usually be the subject of specific licensing, to be handled by OPSI’s Information Policy team. This would not apply in the following circumstances:
a. where material is to be published in learned journals or in the proceedings of conferences or seminars;
b. where the material in question is to be published in an official, authorised work specifically on behalf of the originating department or agency; or
c. where the department or agency is authorised to license the material under specific delegated authority issued by the Controller of HMSO or the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.
4.2.16 Where departments and agencies are authorised to license the reproduction of Crown copyright protected material which they originate, under the cases specified in paragraph 4.2.15 above, they must ensure that:
a. there is an obligation placed on the publisher to acknowledge the Crown copyright source material;
b. Crown copyright is not assigned to the publisher; and
c. that the material is licensed on non-exclusive terms.
4.2.17 Crown copyright is not an issue when a civil servant produces a copyright work unconnected with their official duties and entirely in their own time. If, however, the work in question is linked to their official duties, they should in the first instance consult their Director of Personnel or the Head of their Department or Agency, who in turn may need to consult OPSI. Under these circumstances, the following factors need to be taken into account:
a. whether the civil servant produced the work during official time;
b. whether the work is based on existing Crown copyright source documents; and
c. whether there are security considerations.
4.2.18 If a civil servant writes a book in their own time, which is unrelated to their official duties, but wishes to incorporate extracts of Crown copyright protected material within the work, permission to reproduce the material should be obtained from OPSI. It is customary in such cases for the licence to be granted in favour of the publisher rather than the author, as it is the publisher which is reproducing the material. It is permissible for the author to submit the application on the publisher’s behalf. Where an individual is on secondment outside the Civil Service, copyright in any work which they produce during the term of their secondment will usually rest with the host organisation. This should be covered within the terms of the secondment.
4.2.19 OPSI has published guidance on clearance and licensing arrangements for articles written by civil servants: see http://www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/crown-copyright/copyright-guidance/publication-of-articles-written-by-ministers-and-civil-servants. Guidance on various aspects relating to copyright and official publishing is available on the OPSI website at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/crown-copyright/copyright-guidance/index.htm. Guidance on various aspects relating to copyright and official publishing is available on the OPSI website at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/advice/crown-copyright/copyright-guidance/index.htm.
4.3.1 Departments and agencies must not, unless the civil servant has fully disclosed the measure of his/her interest in the contract and senior management has given permission, let contracts to:
To enforce this rule, departments and agencies must require their staff to report relevant business interests.
4.3.2 Departments and agencies must ensure that civil servants who are bankrupt or insolvent are not employed on duties which might permit the misappropriation of public funds.
4.3.3 Departments and agencies must not sell surplus Government property to civil servants who have been able to get special knowledge about the condition of the goods because of their official duties; or have been officially associated with the disposal arrangements; or at a discount that would not be available to a member of the public.
4.3.4 Departments and agencies must require staff to seek permission before accepting any outside employment which might affect their work either directly or indirectly and must make appropriate arrangements, which reflect the Business Appointments Rules (Annex A) and any local needs, for the handling of such requests.
4.3.5 Departments and agencies must inform staff, taking into account the principle in paragraph 4.1.3(d), of the circumstances in which they need to report offers of gifts, hospitality, awards, decorations and other benefits and of the circumstances in which they need to seek permission before accepting them. In drawing up such rules departments and agencies must draw the attention of staff to the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1906 and 1916.
4.3.6 Departments and agencies must consult the Foreign and Commonwealth Office if a civil servant is offered a decoration or medal by a foreign government.
4.3.7 Civil servants must familiarise themselves with, and as appropriate abide by, the rules on the acceptance of outside appointments by Crown servants (Annex A).
4.3.8 Civil servants may freely invest in shareholdings and other securities unless the nature of their work is such as to require constraints on this. They must not be involved in taking any decision which could affect the value of their private investments, or the value of those on which they give advice to others; or use information acquired in the course of their work to advance their private financial interests or those of others*.
4.3.9 Civil servants must therefore declare to their department or agency any business interests (including directorships) or holdings of shares or other securities which they or members of their immediate family (spouse, including partner where relevant, and children) hold, to the extent which they are aware of them, which they would be able to further as a result of their official position. They must comply with any subsequent instructions from their department or agency regarding the retention, disposal or management of such interests.
4.3.10 Civil servants who become bankrupt or insolvent must report the fact to their department or agency. Civil servants must let their department or agency know if they are arrested and refused bail, or if they are convicted of any criminal offence. This does not apply to a traffic offence unless an official car was involved, or the penalty included imprisonment or disqualification from driving.
1. It is in the public interest that people with experience of public administration should be able to move into business or other bodies, and that such movement should not be frustrated by unjustified public concern over a particular appointment. It is equally important that when a former Crown servant takes up an outside appointment there should be no cause for any suspicion of impropriety.
2. The Business Appointment Rules provide for the scrutiny of appointments which former Crown servants propose to take up in the first two years after they leave the service. To provide an independent element in the process of scrutiny, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments is appointed by the Prime Minister, comprising people with experience of the relationships between the Civil Service and the private sector. The Committee gives advice on applications at the most senior levels, and reviews a wider sample in order to ensure consistency and effectiveness.
3. The aim of the rules is to maintain public trust in the Crown services and in the people who work in them, and in particular:
4. Most applications submitted under the rules are approved without condition. In some cases approval may be given subject to a waiting period or other conditions. The imposition of conditions does not imply anything improper in a Crown servant's relationship with the prospective employer. Rather, it is an indication that an immediate move from Crown service to the employer, or one without conditions, might be open to criticism or misinterpretation. Experience has shown that employers generally are content to accept such constraints as being reasonable in an open society which places a high premium on the integrity and impartiality of its civil and military services.
5. This version of the rules applies to the Home Civil Service. There are corresponding requirements for other Crown servants including the Armed Forces, the Diplomatic Service, and certain office holders. There are different requirements and different procedures for staff at different levels.
6. Within two years of leaving Crown employment, and in the circumstances set out in the following paragraph, civil servants must obtain Government approval before taking any form of full, part-time or fee-paid employment:
7. Applications for approval must be made by civil servants:
8. The rules do not apply to:
9. Approval is required for:
10. Staff on secondment from the Civil Service to other organisations are subject to the rules in the same way as other civil servants.
11. Staff on secondment to the Civil Service from other organisations are also subject to the rules in the same way as civil servants unless they return to their seconding organisation at the end of their secondment and remain there for two years.
12. Special Advisers are subject to the rules in the same way as other civil servants unless they are offered a post by the same employer which they left on being appointed as advisers and remain there for two years. The rules do not apply to Special Advisers appointed before 1 April 1996 on terms exempting them from the rules, unless they have volunteered to be subject to them.
13. Departments and agencies must require staff considering any approach from an outside employer offering employment for which approval would be required under the rules (or which seems likely to lead to such an offer) to report the approach as follows:
14. Staff in sections concerned with procurement or contract work should report any such approach, particularly where it emanates from an outside employer with whom they or their staff have had official dealings, whether or not they are considering taking it up.
15. Departments and agencies must ensure that application forms are completed for all requests for approval for appointments under the rules. For this purpose:
Departments are strongly recommended to adopt the Cabinet Office model form for applicants.
16. Applications under these rules will be approved either:
17. In view of their access to policy issues at the highest levels, all applications from Permanent Secretaries, including second Permanent Secretaries, and their direct equivalents which are referred to the Advisory Committee are subject to an automatic minimum waiting period of three months between leaving Crown employment and taking up an outside appointment, unless they have been appointed from outside the Civil Service on a limited period contract. The Advisory Committee has the discretion to recommend waiving the minimum waiting period if, in the Committee's view, the appointment is one which is entirely unconnected with the applicant's official knowledge and no questions of propriety arise. Although applicants serving on limited period contracts will not be required to serve the automatic waiting period, approval of applications may be subject to waiting periods or other conditions in the same way as any other application
18. Appointments approved by the Prime Minister on the advice of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments which are subsequently taken up may be the subject of a public announcement. Staff at those levels are required to confirm to their department (or former department) their intentions to take up any appointment for which an application has been considered by the Committee. The new employer may wish to include a reference to the Prime Minister's approval in their own announcement of the appointment, and applicants should discuss with the department and the new employer the terms of the statement; in other cases, the Government reserves the right to publish the terms of the Prime Minister's decision. A consolidated record of all appointments taken up will be included in the Advisory Committee's annual report.
19. Departments and agencies must:
(In the case of staff who resign or come to the end of a limited period appointment this should normally take the form of providing them with a copy of the rules and an application form. The Cabinet Office model application form incorporates the relevant extracts from the rules for this purpose.)
20. Departments and agencies are advised:
22. In cases where it is proposed to impose a waiting period or other conditions, applicants should be given the opportunity of having an interview with an appropriate departmental officer if they so choose.
23. There may be occasions when a Minister decides that the national interest is the overriding consideration, regardless of the circumstances of the case. In all such cases, the normal procedures for dealing with applications must first be followed, including reference to the Advisory Committee where that is appropriate. A decision that the national interest should override other considerations may only be taken by the Minister in charge of the department or, in the case of applications referred to the Advisory Committee, by the Prime Minister.
24. Departments and agencies must:
Procedure for dealing with applications
25. All Permanent Secretary posts; other posts in departments which satisfy all of the following criteria: have a JESP score of 18 or more, have a pay range within the top three pay bands, and where the post reports direct to a Permanent Secretary or is itself the Head of a Department or Agency; and specialists and Special Advisers of equivalent standing.
Applications are normally approved by the Prime Minister on the advice of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (apart from those from Special Advisers). All cases must be referred to the Cabinet Office which will refer them to the Advisory Committee unless the Head of the Home Civil Service agrees that such reference would be inappropriate, for example where the appointment is to a non-commercial body, such as a university. Applications from Special Advisers of equivalent standing will be approved by the Head of the Home Civil Service on the advice of the Advisory Committee.
26. Other Heads of Department; other postholders in the Senior Civil Service in salary band 4 and above and in a post attracting a minimum JESP score of 13; and specialists and Special Advisers of equivalent standing.
All applications must be referred to the Cabinet Office which will consult the Head of the Home Civil Service.
27. Other members of the Senior Civil Service; and specialists and Special Advisers of equivalent standing.
Departments and agencies must consult the Cabinet Office unless:
28. Staff outside the Senior Civil Service.
Departments and agencies do not need to consult the Cabinet Office where:
29. Departments and agencies may refer any application to the Cabinet Office for advice. Any application may be referred to the Advisory Committee if the Head of the Home Civil Service and the Departmental Minister so agree.
30. When referring cases to the Cabinet Office departments must submit:
31. Guidance for departments and agencies preparing assessments of applications for submission to Cabinet Office and considering applications for departmental approval is provided in Section 4.3 Annex B.
1. The rules are designed primarily to counter any suspicion that an appointment might be a “reward for past favours” granted by the applicant to the employer, or that a particular employer might gain an unfair advantage over its competitors by employing someone who had access to what they might legitimately regard as their own “trade secrets”.
2. An appointment might also be sensitive because of the employer's relationship with the department and because of the nature of any information which the applicant possesses about Government policy.
3. While appointments must not only be but also be seen to be free from reproach and departments must therefore take account of public perception, departments should be prepared to defend an appointment which they were otherwise willing to approve when public concern can be shown to be unjustifiable.
The employer and the applicant
4. In most cases problems will occur only if the applicant has had some degree of contact with the prospective employer, giving rise to criticism that the post is a “reward for past favours”. Departments are asked to take the following into account:
5. In order to establish whether the applicant was able to exert any degree of influence over the outcome of contractual or other dealings with the prospective employers, departments are advised to establish:
6. Departments are advised to take into account contacts in the course of official duty which have taken place:
7. Departments are advised to consider in particular whether the applicant has been:
8. Departments should consider the circumstances of an applicant's departure as a component of considering each application on its merits. Staff-reduction policies will not justify reducing standards of propriety, or any weakening of the element of protection which the rules offer to third parties in respect of trade secrets. If a civil servant is asked to retire, or is offered early retirement, at relatively short notice, or is unexpectedly made redundant, any presumption that he or she had been paving the way to subsequent employment by offering favours to potential employers may largely be removed. Conversely a protracted period of uncertainty might heighten concerns that individuals were anticipating redundancy by cultivating potential employers improperly. On balance, where departments and agencies intend to reduce numbers during a relatively short period of a year or so, unexpected departures should normally be considered as a factor mitigating any concerns on grounds of rewards.
The employer and the Government
9. The relationship of the prospective employer to the Government may be a relevant factor in considering applications. Departments are advised to pay special attention to appointments where the employer:
Overseas employers
10. The same considerations apply to foreign publicly-owned institutions or companies as to their UK counterparts. If the prospective employer is a foreign government, departments are advised to consider whether the applicant has information that would benefit that government to the detriment of HM Government or its allies. This can arise where the person:
Government policy or business
11. Many Crown servants deal with private interests on behalf of the Government. They have special knowledge of how the Government would be likely to react in particular circumstances. Departments are advised to consider whether the application could be, or could be thought to be, significantly helpful to the employer in dealing with matters where policy is developing or legislation is being prepared in a way which might disadvantage competitors of that employer. This applies in particular to specific areas where:
In such cases, departments are asked to consider the implications of the applicant's joining the employer, and be guided accordingly.
The employer and competitors' trade secrets
12. Appointments might be criticised on the grounds that the applicant had access to information about his or her prospective employer's competitors which they could legitimately regard as “trade secrets”. Concern on this score can arise whether or not the applicant has had previous dealings with the prospective employer. Departments are strongly advised to consult competitors as a matter of course preferably using a standard letter based on the Cabinet Office model letter, to see whether they have any objections to the appointment.
Consultancies
13. Individuals who are to be employed on a consultancy basis (either for a firm of consultants or as an independent, self-employed consultant, competing for commissions in the open market—a “brass plate” consultancy) should be treated in the same way as other applicants under the rules. Extra care is needed, however, in dealing with such applications.
14. In the case of an applicant wishing to take up a salaried appointment with a firm of consultants, the “rewards for past favours” issue will relate almost exclusively to the nature of any previous dealings between the applicant and the firm he or she is seeking to join. Departments will, however, need to consider the “trade secrets” question both from the point of view of any competitors of the consultancy firm and then, more generally from the point of view of the service which the applicant will be offering on behalf of the consultant. It may be necessary to impose conditions on the appointment to protect the “trade secrets” of firms with which the applicant or the department had dealings.
15. Where an applicant wishes to set up a “brass plate” consultancy, the question of “rewards for past favours” does not arise in the usual way. But departments will wish to keep in mind the need:
In approving applications to set up “brass plate” consultancies departments will, therefore, need to consider carefully the imposition of conditions in cases where such considerations apply.
16. Departments will also need to consider whether to apply conditions limiting contacts between applicants proposing to work as consultants and their former departments. This may be particularly relevant in the case of staff at senior levels, where there is a risk of public criticism that they could be exploiting contacts in their former departments for commercial purposes.
Rules
4.4.1 Departments and agencies must make clear to staff any restrictions on their taking part in political activities. Political activities that may be subject to restriction are defined as follows:
4.4.2 Departments and agencies must allow civil servants in industrial and non-office grades the freedom to take part in all political activities. These staff are known as the “politically free” category. The groups of staff to be included in this category are subject to the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service (Servants of the Crown (Parliamentary, European Parliamentary and Northern Ireland Assembly Candidature) Order 1987).
4.4.3 Departments and agencies have discretion to permit other staff to take part in local or national political activities in accordance with paragraphs 4.4.9 and 4.4.10 below. In exercising their discretion, departments and agencies must pay due regard to the guidelines and principles in Annex A.
4.4.4 In giving permission to participate in political activities to groups of staff or individuals, departments and agencies must make clear to them that the permission can be withdrawn at any time and without prior notice if there is a change in relevant circumstances.
4.4.5 Departments and agencies must give civil servants who are refused permission to take part in political activities, or who have permission to do so withdrawn, a full explanation of the reasons for the decision, and inform them of their right of appeal to the Civil Service Appeal Board (see Section 12.1, Appeals).
4.4.6 Departments and agencies must reinstate civil servants in the politically free group who resign to stand for election (see paragraph 4.4.20 below) provided they apply within a week of declaration day if they are not elected. If they are elected, they must still be subsequently reinstated if:
If the first two of these conditions are not met, reinstatement is at the discretion of the department or agency, but departments and agencies are encouraged to treat applications sympathetically.
4.4.7 Departments and agencies have discretion to reinstate civil servants who are not in the politically free category following resignation to stand for election to Parliament or the European Parliament. Discretion to reinstate should normally be exercised only where it is possible to post staff, at least initially, to non-sensitive areas.
4.4.8 Where a civil servant is reinstated, the period of the break will not count for pay or superannuation purposes. Salary will not be payable during the break.
Standards of conduct to be reflected in staff handbooks
4.4.9 Civil servants in “the politically restricted” category i.e. members of the Senior Civil Service and civil servants at levels immediately below the Senior Civil Service, plus members of the Fast Stream Development Programme (Administrative and European), must not take part in national political activities (paragraph 4.4.1a). They must seek permission to take part in local political activities (paragraph 4.4.1b) and must comply with any conditions laid down by their department or agency.
4.4.10 Civil servants outside the “politically restricted” category (paragraph 4.4.9) and the “politically free” category (paragraph 4.4.2) must seek permission to take part in national or local political activities (paragraph 4.4.1) unless they are in a grade or area that has already been given permission to do so by means of a specific mandate from the department or agency. Where they already have permission under such a mandate, they must notify the department or agency of intended political activities prior to taking them up. They must comply with any conditions laid down by their department or agency.
4.4.11 Civil servants must not take part in any political activity when on duty, or in uniform, or on official premises.
4.4.12 Civil servants must not attend in their official capacity outside conferences or functions convened by or under the aegis of a party political organisation.
4.4.13 Civil servants not in the politically free category must not allow the expression of their personal political views to constitute so strong and so comprehensive a commitment to one political party as to inhibit or appear to inhibit loyal and effective service to Ministers of another party. They must take particular care to express comment with moderation, particularly about matters for which their own Ministers are responsible; to avoid comment altogether about matters of controversy affecting the responsibility of their own Ministers, and to avoid personal attacks.
4.4.14 They must also take every care to avoid any embarrassment to Ministers or to their department or agency which could result, inadvertently or not, from bringing themselves prominently to public notice, as civil servants, in party political controversy.
4.4.15 Civil servants who are not in the politically free category and who have not been given permission to engage in political activities must retain at all times a proper reticence in matters of political controversy so that their impartiality is beyond question.
4.4.16 Civil servants do not need permission to take part in activities organised by their trade unions. Elected trade union representatives may comment on Government policy when representing the legitimate interests of their members, but in doing so they must make it clear that they are expressing views as representatives of the union and not as civil servants.
4.4.17 Civil servants given permission to take part in local political activities must tell their department or agency if they are elected to a local authority.
4.4.18 Civil servants given permission to take part in political activities must give up those activities if they are moved to a post where permission cannot be granted.
4.4.19 Civil servants are disqualified from election to Parliament (House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975) and from election to the European Parliament (European Parliamentary Elections Act 1978). They must therefore resign from the Civil Service before standing for election in accordance with paragraphs 4.4.20 and 4.4.21.
4.4.20 Civil servants in the politically free group are not required to resign on adoption as a prospective candidate. But to prevent their election being held to be void they must submit their resignation before they give their consent to nomination in accordance with the Parliamentary Election Rules.
4.4.21 All other civil servants, including civil servants on secondment to outside organisations, must comply with the provisions of the Servants of the Crown (Parliamentary, European Parliamentary and Northern Ireland Assembly Candidature) Order 1987. They must not issue an address to electors or in any other manner publicly announce themselves or allow themselves to be publicly announced as candidates or prospective candidates for election to Parliament or the European Parliament; and they must resign from the Civil Service on their formal adoption as a Parliamentary candidate or prospective candidate in accordance with the procedures of the political party concerned. Civil servants not in the politically free group who are candidates for election must complete their last day of service before their adoption papers are completed.
1. In exercising discretion over participation by civil servants in the political activities described in paragraph 4.4.3, departments and agencies must pay regard to the following principles:
2. In applying these principles, departments and agencies should regard posts as being “sensitive” if:
3. Departments and agencies are advised to apply as helpful a postings policy as possible to staff who wish to become or remain politically active, provided the staff concerned understand that this may have the effect of limiting their range of experience; and to identify blocks of posts in which staff may be granted advance permission to take part in the political activities described in paragraph 4.4.1.
4. Where a civil servant is adopted as a parliamentary candidate and is therefore required to resign, departments and agencies may, at their discretion, make an ex-gratia payment equivalent to the period of notice to be given to the individual if the adoption process does not reasonably allow for the individual to give full notice.
4.5.1 Departments and agencies are responsible for their own dismissal, disciplinary and grievance arrangements. They must comply with the statutory dispute resolution procedures for dealing with dismissals, matters of discipline, and with grievances as set out in the Employment Act 2002 and the Employment Act (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004. Additionally, the Minister for the Civil Service requires that departments and agencies must act within the central framework set out below. They must:
The attention of departments and agencies is drawn to the following as guides to the drawing up of their own procedures:
The ACAS Code of Practice is given significant weight in Employment Tribunal cases.
Discipline and dismissal
4.5.2 Disciplinary procedures may be invoked in certain circumstances in addition to, or instead of, criminal investigations or legal proceedings. Departments and agencies should consult their legal advisers before taking disciplinary action in parallel with criminal proceedings and comply with the section below on suspension from duty.
4.5.3 It is for departments and agencies to define the circumstances in which initiation of disciplinary procedures may be appropriate. It is not necessary to attempt to define every circumstance. However departments’ and agencies’ rules for staff must make clear the circumstances in which the application of the disciplinary procedures may be considered, and these must include:
as well as other circumstances covered by the statutory dispute resolution procedures.
4.5.4 The central rules on the limited efficiency and inefficiency procedures are given in Section 6.3.
4.5.5 It is for departments and agencies to decide the level at which decisions are made, whether or not to proceed with disciplinary action, the disciplinary procedures to be followed, and the arrangements for appeals. However, departments and agencies must comply with these rules, and the statutory dispute resolution procedures. The Cabinet Office recommends setting up simple, clear procedures which closely follow the statutory dispute resolution framework and ACAS guidance rather than adding additional steps.
Disciplinary hearings and decision-making
4.5.6 Disciplinary decisions must be taken by someone at least one level higher than the individual concerned and appeals on disciplinary matters must be heard, where this is possible, by someone at least one level higher than the person making the decision being appealed. Wherever possible, appeal decisions should be taken by someone independent of the original disciplinary decision.
4.5.7 Decisions concerning Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Department and their direct equivalents and any other Heads of Department must be taken by the Head of the Home Civil Service after consultation with the Minister of the Department concerned and, as appropriate, the Prime Minister. Below that level, decisions concerning postholders in Senior Civil Service salary band 4 and above with a minimum JESP score of 13 must be taken by the Permanent Head of the Department or Chief Executive of the Agency. Decisions concerning Chief Executives below that level must be taken by the Permanent Head of Department. Individuals in these cases have a right of appeal to the Head of the Home Civil Service.
4.5.8 Decisions not to proceed with disciplinary action in cases of serious fraud, other than where the individual is being prosecuted, must be taken by the Head of Department or Chief Executive of the agency after consultation with the responsible Minister.
4.5.9 The sanctions applied as a result of disciplinary proceedings are a matter for the department or agency concerned in the light of the circumstances of each case.
Suspension from duty
4.5.10 Individuals under criminal investigation or disciplinary procedures may be suspended from duty if necessary to protect the public interest. Pay may not be withheld or reduced to basic pay during suspension unless the appropriate steps under the department’s or agency’s dispute resolution procedures have been completed.
Dismissal
4.5.11 Departments and agencies must follow the statutory dispute resolution procedures whenever a member of staff is, or may be, dismissed unless the dismissal, such as retirement which has its own separate procedure, is clearly outside the statutory dispute resolution procedures,
Grievance
4.5.12 The level at which grievances are determined is a matter for the Permanent Head of Department, subject to compliance with the following good practice guidance.
4.5.13 Recognised trade unions have the right to make representations on procedural matters and on general principles underlying disciplinary action. Such representations may be made centrally and at departmental and agency level. Additionally, trade union representatives or another employee representative may raise a collective grievance on behalf of more than one employee. In line with the statutory procedures, these would normally be dealt with through the ordinary channels of trade union/departmental communications rather than through the grievance procedure, and departments and agencies will then be considered as having complied with the statutory grievance procedure.
Rules common to disciplinary and grievance procedures
Assistance at a hearing
4.5.14 Staff must be given the right to the assistance of a trade union official or a colleague throughout formal disciplinary or grievance proceedings.
Appeals
4.5.15 Departments and agencies must make clear to individuals their rights of appeal against disciplinary or grievance decisions. Staff must have a route of appeal within the department or agency. In addition, departments and agencies must allow staff who are dismissed to appeal to the Civil Service Appeal Board if they are eligible to do so (see paragraph 12.1.7).
Rules on recovery of losses
4.5.16 Departments and agencies must apply, where appropriate, the rules which apply to the recovery of losses to public funds on dismissal and to the forfeiture of superannuation benefits in respect of dismissal for certain criminal offences. These rules are set out in Annex A.
1. On dismissal for an offence involving loss to public funds, any sums unpaid, for example in respect of salary or wages up to the last day of duty, or of income tax overpaid on salary may be withheld as a set-off against the loss. Similar set-offs should be made if someone who would have been dismissed for an offence resigns before the dismissal can be put into effect. The Inland Revenue should be notified of any sums so withheld in respect of income tax refund, and at the same time be requested themselves to withhold the refund of overpayment of tax. If the amount of tax from these sources is less than the loss to public funds, it may be possible to recover the balance from any superannuation benefits payable. Civil Service Pensions Division, Cabinet Office should be consulted at an early stage and their authority obtained for the deduction to be made.
Forfeiture of Superannuation Benefits (see also Section 12.1)
2. Automatic loss of pension rights applies only where a civil servant is convicted of treason.
3. The Cabinet Office exercises the power under rule 8.2 of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme to withhold superannuation benefits in whole or in part if a civil servant or former civil servant is convicted of:
4. The guaranteed minimum pension payable under the provisions of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975, as amended, must be paid in the case of paragraph 3b, but that element of a pension can be withheld if forfeiture is applied under paragraph 3a or as a result of a conviction for treason. Before the Cabinet Office exercises this power to withhold superannuation benefits, the case will be discussed on a “without prejudice” basis with the trade union side.
5. The Cabinet Office will normally advise Ministers on the certification of offences in accordance with paragraph 3b. Employment Conditions and Statistics Division, Cabinet Office should therefore be consulted at an early stage in any case in which criminal proceedings are pending and the charges are such that a withholding of superannuation benefits under either paragraph 3a or b will need to be considered. The decision on forfeiture is however a matter for the Civil Service Pensions Division, Cabinet Office which should be kept informed of discussions. Departments and agencies should subsequently notify both Divisions of the outcome of the trial and of the possibility of an appeal. If there is a conviction, the department or agency concerned may make recommendations about the forfeiture of superannuation benefits but these recommendations should not be made known to the individual(s) concerned. They should, however, be supplied with a copy of rule 8.2 of the PCSPS and advised that representations in writing about any matters relevant to the question of forfeiture may be submitted. Such representations may be made on their behalf by a colleague or trade union representative.
6. The department or agency concerned will be told whether or not it is proposed to withhold superannuation benefits and, if forfeiture is intended, what benefits will be withheld. The department or agency will be told also the period (normally 21 days) within which notice of intent to appeal must be made by the person concerned. It will be for the employing department or agency to pass that information to the person. Attention should be specifically drawn to the right of appeal and a further copy of rule 8.2 of the PCSPS should be provided. The individual should be advised that in the event of lodging an appeal full written representations may be made, prior to the hearing, to the Civil Service Appeal Board, whose judgement on whether or not, or to what extent, superannuation benefits should be forfeited will be accepted by the Cabinet Office. No action, therefore, should be taken either to pay superannuation benefits to a serving member of staff or to withhold them from somebody who is already retired until a final decision is promulgated by the Cabinet Office.
