MPs want the State to stop paying allowances to public officers who serve in acting capacities for more than one year, and valid reasons to support retention of persons who have hit retirement age in service be documented.
The Labour Committee recommends extending the period beyond which officers in acting capacity should not be entitled to allowances from six months as earlier proposed, in a report on the Public Service Commission (Amendment) Bill 2023.
The Bill sponsored by Embakasi Central MP Benjamin Gathiru sought to tighten controls in the public service to avoid cases of public agencies holding workers beyond retirement age and officers unnecessarily serving in acting capacity for long periods.
“The amendment is meant to firm up its implementation in the public service and to increase the job vacancies available to Kenyan citizens below the age of 60.
The PSC (Public Service Commission) and other appointing authorities should be keen on succession planning to settle succession issues that are common in the public service through training other persons in the organisation to take up these positions,” the MP submitted before the committee.
But following reactions from several State agencies, including the PSC, the committee recommended the changes.
“There are circumstances where substantive officers are lawfully authorised to be away for a period exceeding six months and, therefore, the post cannot be filled,” the PSC stated. This includes officers on secondment, leave of absence granted to a spouse of a foreign service officer who has been posted outside Kenya during the tour of service for the foreign service officer,” the PSC stated.
“The committee noted that the enactment of this provision would result in unfair labour practices contrary to articles 27 and 41 (1) of the constitution on the freedom from discrimination and the right to fair labour practices,” it stated regarding officers acting beyond six months.
“The period an officer may work in acting capacity is 12 months, such position be declared vacant after the elapsing of the stated period where such position is available for competitive filling and that an officer working in acting capacity after the 12-month period is not entitled to an acting allowance,” it recommended in the report tabled before Parliament on Wednesday last week.
PSC had submitted before the committee that not all the positions where officers serve in acting capacity are available for competitive filling.
On the issue of workers serving beyond the set retirement age, which is 65 for persons with disabilities and 60 for other persons, the committee wants PSC to document proof of retention of such workers and consult with the agencies the officers work before the decision to retain them.
“Where they possess rare knowledge, skills and competencies, the commission shall determine and document them, which include knowledge, skills and competencies that are scarce, unique and not readily available in the job market,” it recommended.
Should MPs pass the committee’s recommendations, officers working in an acting capacity will not earn allowances after acting beyond a year, and the PSC will need to hold hard evidence for retaining persons beyond retirement age in service.
Public agencies continue to hold workers who have already surpassed the official retirement age of 60, with at least 28 counties in the year to June 2022 holding 422 officers.
