Commissioner's Instruction 1: Employment Standard

What are the principles of the Employment Standard?

The Employment Standard contains four principles to be complied with when filling a public sector vacancy. They are:

• Merit
• Equity
• Interest
• Transparency.

Application of the Standard

What does the Employment Standard apply to?

The Employment Standard applies when a public sector body fills a vacancy by way of recruitment, selection and appointment, secondment, transfer and temporary deployment (acting). It covers fixed term, casual or permanent positions.

Breach of Standard claims, however, cannot be lodged in relation to all vacancies.

Who does the Employment Standard apply to?

The Employment Standard applies to public service officers appointed under Part 3 of the PSM Act.

The Employment Standard also applies to employees otherwise employed by employing authorities of public sector bodies, as defined in the PSM Act.

Who doesn’t the Employment Standard apply to?

The Employment Standard does not apply to entities listed in Schedule 1 of the PSM Act.

These entities include, but are not limited to:

• Local Government Authorities
• Public Universities
• Elected officials (members of Parliament and local government council representatives)
• Sworn members of the Western Australian Police Force (police officers).

These bodies and their employees are covered by other legislation.

Does the Employment Standard apply to the temporary deployment of an employee at the employer’s initiative within the public sector body at level?

No. The Employment Standard does not apply to temporary deployments at the employer’s initiative within the same employing authority at the same level.

If an employee has concerns about their temporary deployment they may utilise their agency’s internal grievance resolution process. Grievance resolution processes are subject to the Grievance Resolution Standard and the breach of Standard claim process. For more information refer to the Public Sector Standards (Breaches of Public Sector Standards) Regulations 2005 and Breach Claims - An Agency Guide.

Does the Employment Standard apply when a registered employee (redeployee) is referred to a vacancy?

No. The Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 1994 apply to registered employees referred to a vacancy.

The Employment Standard does, however, apply when a registered employee applies outside the redeployment process for a vacancy.

Principles of Employment Standard - Merit principle

What is the merit principle?

This principle ensures employment decisions in the Western Australian public sector are based on merit.

How is the merit principle applied?

The merit principle is applied by conducting a proper assessment of the person’s skills, knowledge and abilities relevant to the work related requirements. It considers outcomes sought by the public sector body and may include previous  employment or occupational duties.

What does the merit principle mean “if relevant, the way in which the person carried out any previous employment or occupational duties”; shouldn’t this always be relevant?

No. Not every person assessed will have a previous work history, for example, a person who has not worked but has completed a course of study.

Does the Employment Standard require a job description form?

No. The Employment Standard does not require the use of a Job Description Form (JDF), however, documentation must exist which outlines the work related requirements. Documentation assists agencies to undertake a proper assessment that is transparent and capable of review. Documentation also assists in communicating to applicants how their merit will be assessed.

It is up to agencies to choose in what form the work related requirements are described and documented.

Is there a set assessment process that can be used to meet the Employment Standard, for example, a panel process?

No. It is up to the agency to decide on the assessment process to be used. When making a decision about what process to use agencies should consider the:

• Employment Standard
• type of job it is, for example, different jobs may lend themselves to different assessment methods
• identified work related requirements of the job and the skills, knowledge and abilities needed to undertake the job.

What may assist an agency to conduct a proper assessment of merit?

The following may assist an agency to conduct a proper assessment of merit:

• A person with an good understanding of the work related requirements and outcomes sought by the agency is part of the assessment process
• Combining assessment methods, for example, an interview and work test
• An assessment process that includes the verification of information provided by the applicant, for example, work tests, work samples, referee checks and verification of qualifications
• An independent person to review (quality check) the process undertaken in consideration of the Employment Standard and other requirements (s.8 and s.9 PSM Act).

Principles of Employment Standard - Equity principle

What does impartiality refer to in the Employment Standard?

Generally impartiality means to be objective or not to act on behalf of any person when making an employment decision.

What does free from bias refer to in the Employment Standard?

Free from bias refers to employment decisions being based on merit rather than a pre established view, for example, for or against a person.

What does nepotism refer to in the Employment Standard?

Nepotism refers to the favourable treatment of a family member when making an employment decision.

What does patronage refer to in the Employment Standard?

Generally patronage refers to a favour given to a person when making an employment decision due to a close personal relationship or affiliation.

For transfer what do comparable conditions refer to?

Comparable employment conditions include:

• Comparable or equivalent conditions based on salary/wage excluding allowances, penalty rates etc
• no loss of tenure
• no loss of service continuity.

I would like to transfer an employee into another position. Does the Employment Standard provide the CEO/Employing Authority with the power to do this?

No. The Employment Standard applies to transfers but it does not provide the CEO/EmployingAuthority with the power to transfer. The power to transfer an employee is usually found inenabling legislation, awards, employment contracts or industrial agreements.

Principles of Employment Standard - Interest principle

What is the interest principle?

This principle requires the public sector body to take account of an employee interests when making employment decisions about secondment, transfers and acting. It does not, however, oblige the employer to assent to them.

Employee interests could include career considerations, medical issues or personal circumstances.

Does an employee have to be consulted prior to the CEO/Employing Authority deciding to transfer them?

Where a decision is being made to transfer an employee, that employee should be given the opportunity to comment on the proposal. The CEO/Employing Authority should consider the employee’s comments prior to making the final decision. Consultation will assist an agency to consider an employee’s interests.

What needs to happen before an employee proceeds on secondment?

Prior to any secondment, there needs to be agreement about the period of the secondment, remuneration and the employee’s placement at the completion of the secondment. Service continuity and tenure of employment are not affected by a secondment.

Principles of Employment Standard - Transparency principle

What is the transparency principle?

This principle requires that processes undertaken and decisions made can withstand independent scrutiny. As part of supporting this principle agencies should ensure that clear and concise documentation explaining the process and how the final decision was made is available.