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PAHRO 200/2010
PAHRO Circular 5/2015
Public Administration HR Office
Office of the Prime Minister
3, Castille Place
Valletta, VLT 1062
3rd June 2015
Permanent Secretaries
Directors General
Directors
Heads of Public Sector Organisations
EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FROM AMONGST PUBLIC EMPLOYEES1 TO BE RELEASED TO WORK WITH
VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS (VOs)
1.
In line with Government’s commitment towards its social obligations, expressed through its
professed support towards Voluntary Organisations, the Public Administration HR Office is
seeking to identify suitable Public Employees interested in being released to work with
Voluntary Organisations, on grounds of public policy. The period of release is for a maximum
of twelve (12) months on a full-time basis and is directly linked with identified projects being
implemented by Voluntary Organisations.
2.
Interested employees are thus invited to submit their Expression of Interest in being released
to work with Voluntary Organisations. In their submission, employees are to indicate their
three preferred Voluntary Organisations. The indicated Voluntary Organisations must be
established exclusively to fulfil a social and charitable purpose on a national level and as
defined by the Trusts and Trustees Act2, this is to say any charitable and philanthropic
purpose including:
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the advancement of education, including physical education and sports;
the advancement of health;
the advancement of religion;
social and community advancement;
the advancement of culture, arts and national heritage;
environmental protection and improvement;
the promotion of human rights, conflict resolution and reconciliation.
Public employees may not be released with Voluntary Organisations established at local
level.
Interested employees are also to indicate the preferred period of release being either that
of six (6) months or the maximum period of twelve (12) months.
3.
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2
Expressions of Interest, which should include a motivational statement and the applicant’s
curriculum vitae, are to be submitted through the respective Director General/Director or
Head of Entity and endorsed by the respective Permanent Secretary, which endorsement
shall signify approval for eventual release. In those cases where, owing to justified reasons,
the Permanent Secretary is unable to endorse the Expression of Interest, the employee is not
precluded from submitting the Expression of Interest in light of developments that may
Public Officers and employees from within the wider Public Sector
http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8805
ensue. In such instances the respective Permanent Secretary is to submit a report to the
Public Administration HR Office with justifications for the non-endorsement of the employee’s
Expression of Interest.
4.
Eligible applicants may be requested by the Employee Relationship Management
Directorate within the Pubic Administration HR Office (PAHRO) to attend for an interview to
assess their suitability. Original certificates and/or testimonials are to be invariably produced
for verification at the interview.
5.
Successful applicants will form part of a pool of employees to be considered for eventual
release to work with Voluntary Organisations. The validity period of the pool of successful
applicants is of twelve (12) months.
6.
Approval for release shall be communicated by the Employee Relationship Management
Directorate within PAHRO, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders. The Employee
Relationship Management Directorate reserves the right to monitor the release. To this effect
spot checks may be carried out and/or reports on the activities may be required by the
respective Director/Head of Entity or by someone delegated on Government’s behalf. The
employing Department/Entity reserves the right to withdraw the released employee by
giving a five (5) working day notice if the terms of agreement are not adhered to.
7.
During the period of release, Public Officers will be entitled to receive the basic salary of their
substantive grade. Public Officers on a salary scale higher than Scale 6 will be paid the
maximum of salary Scale 6. Public Officers on a performance agreement or on a contract
must revert to their substantive grade prior to their release with a Voluntary Organisation.
Employees will resume duties with their employing Department/Entity at the end of the
approved release. Employees who have been released from work for a period of two (2) or
more years will, upon resumption of duties, have to undergo an induction course and any
other re-training activities considered necessary by the employing Department/Entity.
During the period of release, Public Officers are regulated by the PSC disciplinary
procedures and Public Sector Employees are regulated by the respective disciplinary
procedures applicable in their employing entity for any misconduct; this without prejudice to
the regulations governing the respective Voluntary Organisation.
8.
Upon release, selected employees will be expected to work a 40 hour week and be entitled
to 192 hours of vacation leave yearly. In the case of teachers, the equivalent of 192 hours
vacation leave entitlement will be granted pro-rata, depending on the date of release.
9.
The Voluntary Organisation may request a further period of release for the remaining
duration of the project or for a maximum period of twelve (12) months (whichever is the
shortest), subject to a maximum aggregate of five (5) years. Applications requesting renewal
of release are to be submitted to the Employee Relationship Management Directorate,
PAHRO not later than two (2) months prior to the expiry of the approved release. Approval
for a further period of leave will be communicated by the Employee Relationship
Management Directorate within PAHRO, following consultations with the employee’s
respective Director/Head of Entity and the respective Permanent Secretary.
10.
Employees currently released with a Voluntary Organisation and whose term of release is
due to expire by the end of September 2015 are required to submit their expression of
interest as per paragraphs 2 and 3 above.
11.
The period of assignment with the Voluntary Organisation shall be reckoned as ‘service in
the grade’ for the purpose of computation of length of service, seniority, salary, progression
and, where applicable, for treasury pension purposes. The performance of such duties will
also be recorded in the Record of Service (GP47).
12.
Submissions, including a detailed CV, are to reach the Director, Employee Relationship
Management, Public Administration HR Office, 3, Castille Place, Valletta, VLT 1062, by not
later than noon (Central European Time) of 19th June 2015.
13.
Selected Officers will be required to sign an undertaking signifying their commitment to the
assignment for which they are selected.
Yakob Zahra
Director (Employee Relationship Management)
Public Administration HR Office