Public servants at the national and county level whose positions are abolished will be shielded from losing their jobs under a proposed law.
If the Public Service Human Resources Management Bill 2024, currently before the National Assembly, becomes law in its current form, employees whose positions become redundant will be redeployed.
The Bill comes in the backdrop of reports of government layoffs to address a bloated civil service estimated to have nearly one million workers gobbling up over Sh1 trillion in salaries.
It also comes as the employees of the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) facing uncertainty as the transition to the Social Health Authority (SHA) takes shape. Whereas the government has assured them of job safety, there is no concrete undertaking that they will be retained under SHA or deployed to another public body.
The previous talk by government functionaries is that the officers who were employed under NHIF will have to apply afresh for jobs under SHA, which is not a guarantee that they will be hired.
The Bill by Runyenjes MP Eric Muchangi, the chairperson of the Labour committee of the National Assembly, targets seven laws for change as it seeks to reform human resource management “for an efficient and effective public service to deliver quality services”.
“An officer shall not be removed or retired from public service on grounds of abolition of office unless the public service entity has considered retraining and deployment or transfer of the public officer as appropriate,” reads clause 13 of the Bill. “The Bill seeks to reposition the public service so that it can better serve the people of Kenya in order to facilitate development of the country as per the aspirations of the development goals.”
The Bill proposes that a public service entity both at the national and county level, shall develop guidelines for establishment and abolition of offices in accordance with the Public Service Commission Act.
“A decision by a public service entity to abolish an office in the public service shall be subject to the applicable legislation and the due process of deployment, transfer, removal or retirement of the affected public officer or in terms and conditions applicable to a public officer,” the Bill reads.
The laws the Bill is targeting include State Corporations Acts, Labour Relations Act, County Governments Act, Public Finance Management Act, Office of the Attorney-General Act, Public Service Commission Act and Foreign Service Act.
“The Bill, therefore, seeks to provide uniform norms and standards for the management of human resource in order to effectively support management and delivery of public services,” Mr Muchangi says in the memorandum of objects and reasons.
The Bill also proposes a leave of absence of up to three years, which may be extended once for another three years. The leave of absence shall not be granted for purposes of participating in political activities.
By targeting the seven Acts for change, the Bill seeks to address the public service human resource environment, which it says is currently loaded with conflicting laws and policies.
The conflicting laws, the Bill states, have not been “fully” supportive of implementing decisions and actions that are crucial for transforming the public service and the country”.
The Bill also proposes to reform the appointments done in acting capacity within the public service, currently governed by a circular from the former Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua, which states that no one should serve in acting position for more than six months. The Public Service Commission Act provides for appointment in acting capacity for at least 30 days but not exceeding six months.
However, public agencies that undertake their own recruitments outside the purview of the Public Service Commission have had officers act for more than six months without confirmation or appointment of substantive office holders.
The Bill states that a person shall not be appointed to hold a public office in an acting capacity unless the person satisfies all the prescribed qualifications.
“An officer may be appointed in an acting capacity for a non-renewable period of at least 30 days but not exceeding six months,” clause 21 of the Bill reads.
During the period where an officer has been appointed to act, the public entity responsible shall commence and conclude the recruitment process for a substantive holder of the position.
In the event the recruitment of a substantive office holder is not concluded within the six months, the Bill states that “nothing prevents a public service entity or the lawful appointing authority from deploying another public officer to act or perform duties for a period exceeding six months during a temporary absence of the substantive office holder of the public office.”
