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Executive Regulations to the New Ci

Executive Regulations to the New Civil Service Law
On 8 November 2015, the Executive Regulations to the new Civil Service Law were issued by way of a Decree of the Prime Minister.[1] The Regulations were issued nearly eight months after the adoption of the new Civil Service Law in March 2015.[2] The issuance of the Executive Regulations is of special importance mainly due to two reasons: 1) the Civil Service Law left many important areas for the Executive Regulations to deal with; and 2) the months following the issuance of the Civil Service Law witnessed significant protests and complaints by many stakeholders, which meant that several players were closely monitoring whether the Executive Regulations will alleviate some of their concerns.
Background
The Civil Service Law enacted in March 2015 replaced the Civilian State Employees Law, which had regulated the affairs of State employees since 1978. As noted in the April 2015 Issue of the Egypt Legal Update, the new Civil Service was passed in the context of a significant increase in the number of state employees in the last four years, as well as continuing attempts by the government to implement austerity policies, balance the budget deficit and reduce public expenditure in the form of employees’ salaries. The new Civil Service Law introduced several changes that may have a positive impact, such as imposing a cap on the number of years for high-ranking positions, requiring electronic tests for every vacancy, giving allowances in the form of percentages of regular wages, rather than outdated hard figures, and improving upon the benefits given to some vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities. The Law also confronted some of the controversial issues, such as the early retirement system, which was drastically developed to make it more amenable for employees wishing to use it. However, the Law was challenged on many levels by stakeholders representing various different interests. One of the main issues is that the Law left out many key issues unaddressed, such as the regulation of incentive payments and other forms of irregular payments which generally make up a significant portion of the wage of a civil servant. Other unaddressed issues were the financial repercussions of resignations or termination of employment for health reasons. This meant that it was up to the Executive Regulations to fill this gap without clear directions from the Law.
Highlights of the Regulations
The Executive Regulations consist of 191 articles divided over nine different chapters. These include pronouncements on the new human resources committees that the Civil Service Law established. The Regulations go into the details of the formation of the new committees, their mandates and the relationship between the committees and the training and development of employees. Over the past months, this has been one of the main angles emphasized by the government. The Regulations provide detailed information on the appointment process, which the Civil Service Law had significantly changed. The Regulations go into the specifics of the new system, which relies on a more central electronic recruitments process, and highlight specific requirements for the appointment of individuals to upper scale positions. Dealing with one of the issues that proved to be most controversial in the new Civil Service Law, the Regulations dedicate a lengthy chapter for the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of employees. The Regulations attempt to guarantee general feedback from citizens (service recipients), peers and subordinates. Moreover, the Regulations explain the different roles of the immediate supervisor, the human resources department or committee at each administrative unit, and the employee who is being assessed. It is to be noted that the Regulations do not provide specific characteristics on the basis of which such assessment is to be made, but rather give general guidance (behavior, commitment, creativity, etc.) and leave it to the “relevant/competent authority”, a term defined in the Regulations as “the relevant minister, governor, or director of the board of the relevant authority. This had been one of the main objections to the new Civil Service Law. Leaving it out of the Regulations will likely fail to alleviate concerns surrounding the monitoring and evaluation process. The Regulations also provide specific details on several other interrelated issues, such as promotion, transfer and secondment. In general, the main decision-maker on these matters remains the “relevant/competent authority”, which may delegate its authority to others. It is to be noted, though, that crucial decisions for the employees (such as promotions) have been interconnected with the employee’s performance as demonstrated by his/her annual assessment results. The Regulations did not provide many additional details with regards to allowances, in comparison to the details that had been previously provided in the Civil Service Law. This is notable since the Civil Service Law instituted a significant shift in the structure of wages. The Law reorganized wages so that a bigger portion of the public employee’s salary will come from “basic wages”, which is comprised of the regular wages plus the allowances prescribed in the law. This stands in contrast with the older system, which relied more on "additional pay" (or complementary wages) which is defined as the wage the employee earns apart from regular wages, and includes incentives and allowances. The Regulations provide more detail on allowances prescribed by Law but do not provide for other incentives. This, in fact, is consistent with Article (40) of the Civil Service Law which stipulates that organization of these matters will be through decisions of the Prime Minister, taking into account the nature of each government entity and the performance of its employees.
Conclusion
The Executive Regulations of the Civil Service Law were issued nearly eight months after the adoption of the Law, five months after the deadline that was stipulated in the Law. The Regulations provide many details of the issues that were dealt with in the Law, such as the newly formed human resources committees, the process for training and developing employees and the increasingly important monitoring and evaluation process. While it is unlikely that the provisions of the Executive Regulations will alleviate many of the concerns voiced by several stakeholders, the adoption of the Regulations means that the new Law will now be in full force and effect and thus its effect will be gradually tested.   [1] Prime Minister's Decree No. 2912/2015 enacting the Executive Regulations to the Civil Service Law, Official Gazette, Issue No. 45 (bis), 8 November 2015. [2] Presidential Decree-Law No. 18/2005 issuing the Civil Service Law, Official Gazette, Issue No. 11 (cont.), 12 March 2015.
On 8 November 2015, the Executive Regulations to the new Civil Service Law were issued by way of a Decree of the Prime Minister.[1] The Regulations were issued nearly eight months after the adoption of the new Civil Service Law in March 2015.[2] The issuance of the Executive Regulations is of special importance mainly due to two reasons: 1) the Civil Service Law left many important areas for the Executive Regulations to deal with; and 2) the months following the issuance of the Civil Service Law witnessed significant protests and complaints by many stakeholders, which meant that several players were closely monitoring whether the Executive Regulations will alleviate some of their concerns.
Background
The Civil Service Law enacted in March 2015 replaced the Civilian State Employees Law, which had regulated the affairs of State employees since 1978. As noted in the April 2015 Issue of the Egypt Legal Update, the new Civil Service was passed in the context of a significant increase in the number of state employees in the last four years, as well as continuing attempts by the government to implement austerity policies, balance the budget deficit and reduce public expenditure in the form of employees’ salaries. The new Civil Service Law introduced several changes that may have a positive impact, such as imposing a cap on the number of years for high-ranking positions, requiring electronic tests for every vacancy, giving allowances in the form of percentages of regular wages, rather than outdated hard figures, and improving upon the benefits given to some vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities. The Law also confronted some of the controversial issues, such as the early retirement system, which was drastically developed to make it more amenable for employees wishing to use it. However, the Law was challenged on many levels by stakeholders representing various different interests. One of the main issues is that the Law left out many key issues unaddressed, such as the regulation of incentive payments and other forms of irregular payments which generally make up a significant portion of the wage of a civil servant. Other unaddressed issues were the financial repercussions of resignations or termination of employment for health reasons. This meant that it was up to the Executive Regulations to fill this gap without clear directions from the Law.
Highlights of the Regulations
The Executive Regulations consist of 191 articles divided over nine different chapters. These include pronouncements on the new human resources committees that the Civil Service Law established. The Regulations go into the details of the formation of the new committees, their mandates and the relationship between the committees and the training and development of employees. Over the past months, this has been one of the main angles emphasized by the government. The Regulations provide detailed information on the appointment process, which the Civil Service Law had significantly changed. The Regulations go into the specifics of the new system, which relies on a more central electronic recruitments process, and highlight specific requirements for the appointment of individuals to upper scale positions. Dealing with one of the issues that proved to be most controversial in the new Civil Service Law, the Regulations dedicate a lengthy chapter for the monitoring and evaluation of the performance of employees. The Regulations attempt to guarantee general feedback from citizens (service recipients), peers and subordinates. Moreover, the Regulations explain the different roles of the immediate supervisor, the human resources department or committee at each administrative unit, and the employee who is being assessed. It is to be noted that the Regulations do not provide specific characteristics on the basis of which such assessment is to be made, but rather give general guidance (behavior, commitment, creativity, etc.) and leave it to the “relevant/competent authority”, a term defined in the Regulations as “the relevant minister, governor, or director of the board of the relevant authority. This had been one of the main objections to the new Civil Service Law. Leaving it out of the Regulations will likely fail to alleviate concerns surrounding the monitoring and evaluation process. The Regulations also provide specific details on several other interrelated issues, such as promotion, transfer and secondment. In general, the main decision-maker on these matters remains the “relevant/competent authority”, which may delegate its authority to others. It is to be noted, though, that crucial decisions for the employees (such as promotions) have been interconnected with the employee’s performance as demonstrated by his/her annual assessment results. The Regulations did not provide many additional details with regards to allowances, in comparison to the details that had been previously provided in the Civil Service Law. This is notable since the Civil Service Law instituted a significant shift in the structure of wages. The Law reorganized wages so that a bigger portion of the public employee’s salary will come from “basic wages”, which is comprised of the regular wages plus the allowances prescribed in the law. This stands in contrast with the older system, which relied more on "additional pay" (or complementary wages) which is defined as the wage the employee earns apart from regular wages, and includes incentives and allowances. The Regulations provide more detail on allowances prescribed by Law but do not provide for other incentives. This, in fact, is consistent with Article (40) of the Civil Service Law which stipulates that organization of these matters will be through decisions of the Prime Minister, taking into account the nature of each government entity and the performance of its employees.
Conclusion
The Executive Regulations of the Civil Service Law were issued nearly eight months after the adoption of the Law, five months after the deadline that was stipulated in the Law. The Regulations provide many details of the issues that were dealt with in the Law, such as the newly formed human resources committees, the process for training and developing employees and the increasingly important monitoring and evaluation process. While it is unlikely that the provisions of the Executive Regulations will alleviate many of the concerns voiced by several stakeholders, the adoption of the Regulations means that the new Law will now be in full force and effect and thus its effect will be gradually tested.   [1] Prime Minister's Decree No. 2912/2015 enacting the Executive Regulations to the Civil Service Law, Official Gazette, Issue No. 45 (bis), 8 November 2015. [2] Presidential Decree-Law No. 18/2005 issuing the Civil Service Law, Official Gazette, Issue No. 11 (cont.), 12 March 2015.