Distinguishing Official and Public Employees, Salary Policies and Transitions

On January 01, 2012, Law on Public Employees 2010 came into effect, two years earlier, the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants had come into effect. These are two laws that specifically stipulate what constitutes officials and public employees; what officials and public employees are prohibited from doing; salary policies, forms of discipline in case of violations...

According to Article 4 of the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants, an official is a Vietnamese citizen who is recruited, appointed to a rank, position, or title in the agencies of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, socio-political organizations at the central, provincial, and district levels; in the agencies and units of the People's Army but not an officer, professional soldier, or defense worker; in the agencies and units of the People’s Public Security but not an officer, non-commissioned professional officer; and in the leadership and management apparatus of public service providers of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, and socio-political organizations (referred to collectively as public service providers), on the payroll and receiving salaries from the state budget; for officials in the leadership and management apparatus of public service providers, the salary is guaranteed from the salary fund of the public service provider as prescribed by law.

Illustrative image (source: internet)

Meanwhile, the Law on Public Employees 2010 stipulates: “A public employee is a Vietnamese citizen who is recruited according to the job position, working at a public service provider under an employment contract, receiving a salary from the salary fund of the public service provider as prescribed by law.”

The professional activities of public employees involve performing tasks or jobs that require qualifications, competence, professional skills within public service providers, differing from the authoritative nature of officials' labor.

A public service provider is defined as: “An organization established by competent state agencies, political organizations, or socio-political organizations as prescribed by law, having legal status, providing public services, serving state management.”

Recruitment

Regarding recruitment bases: The recruitment of officials must be based on the requirements of the tasks, job positions, and staffing quotas. Meanwhile, according to the Law on Public Employees, the recruitment of public employees must be based on job needs, job positions, professional title standards, and the salary fund of the public service provider.

Regarding recruitment forms: Public employees are recruited through examinations or selections, implemented by the head of the autonomous public service provider (or competent management agencies or as decentralized). After the recruitment decision, public employees must sign an initial employment contract; if evaluated to complete the assigned tasks well according to the contract term, they will be considered for official appointment to the professional title corresponding to the job position of the public employee according to regulations and must sign a contract.

For officials, according to the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants, recruitment must be stricter and mandatorily through examinations (except in cases where selection is allowed, provided that the person meets conditions of health, diploma, age, and commits to volunteering to work for five years or more in mountainous and especially difficult economic areas…)

After having the recruitment decision from the competent state agency, officials will undergo a probationary period as per the recruitment decision; if evaluated to complete the assigned tasks well, they will be considered for official appointment to a rank of officials according to regulations.

Officials are categorized by “ranks,” while public employees are not categorized into ranks like specialist or officer ranks; instead, they are categorized by professional titles. Professional titles demonstrate the qualifications and professional competence of public employees in each professional field.

For example, the lecturer category includes lecturers, main lecturers, senior lecturers... Professional titles are appointed to public employees according to principles: working in a job position, they will be appointed to the professional title corresponding to that position, and the appointee must meet the standards of that professional title. Changing professional titles for public employees is conducted through examination or selection.

Conditions for recruitment participation: General standards for applicants of officials and public employees include having Vietnamese nationality, submitting an application for recruitment, having a clear background, possessing suitable diplomas and certificates, and being physically capable of performing the job or tasks assigned. However, applicants for officials must be at least 18 years old, while in some culture, art, sports fields, applicants for public employees may have a lower age as prescribed by law; and there must be written consent from the lawful representative.

Workplace: Public employees work in public service providers such as in health, education, science, culture, sports fields... while officials work in the agencies of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, socio-political organizations at the central, provincial, district levels; agencies and units of the People's Army but not military officers, professional soldiers, or defense workers; agencies and units of the People’s Public Security but not officers, professional non-commissioned officers; leadership and management apparatus of public service providers of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the State, and socio-political organizations…

Salaries and related policies:

Officials are on the payroll, receiving salaries from the state budget or from the salary fund of the public service provider (for those in the leadership and management apparatus of the public service provider).

Public employees follow the policies of employment contracts and receive salaries from the salary fund of the public service provider suitable to the job position, professional title, management position, and job or task performance results.

Additionally, public employees have the right to unilaterally terminate the employment contract under the following cases: not being assigned the correct job or workplace, or not being ensured the working conditions agreed in the employment contract; not being paid fully or on time as per the employment contract; not capable of continuing to work due to health reasons; being elected to specialized duties in the agencies of the Communist Party, the State, socio-political organizations, or being transferred, appointed to a position defined as an official as prescribed by law; pregnant female public employees advised by competent medical authority to retire.

A public service provider can unilaterally terminate the employment contract with a public employee in the following cases: the public employee consecutively rated at the level of not fulfilling tasks for two years; the public employee suffers from illness treated for 12 continuous months (for indefinite-term employment contracts) or six continuous months (for definite-term employment contracts) without recovery; when the public service provider ceases operations or reduces scale for irresistible reasons...

Disputes over employment contracts will be resolved according to labor law regulations.

Forms of discipline:

For officials, the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants stipulates: “Officials violating this Law and related legal provisions, depending on the nature and level of violation, shall bear one of the following disciplinary forms: reprimand; warning; salary step reduction; demotion; removal and dismissal.”

Article 52 of the Law on Public Employees 2010 stipulates: “Public employees violating legal provisions during work shall, depending on the nature and level of violation, bear one of the following disciplinary forms: reprimand; warning; dismissal and termination of employment contract” (there are no forms such as salary step reduction, demotion like for officials).

Transition between public employees and officials:

Due to Vietnam's specifics, there is always a link and transition between public employees and officials among the agencies, organizations, and units of the Communist Party, the State, and socio-political organizations. Therefore, the Law on Public Employees stipulates specific cases of this transition, which include:

(1) Public employees working at public service providers for five years or more may be considered for transition to officials without examination;

(2) Public employees received, appointed to job positions defined by law as officials, the decision of reception and appointment to such job positions is both the decision to recruit;

(3) Cadres, officials transitioned to public employees when meeting the necessary conditions as prescribed by the Law on Public Employees;

(4) Officials in leadership, management apparatus of public service providers not reappointed after the term ends but continue working at the public service providers, will transition to public employees and be assigned appropriate tasks.

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