Amendments to regulations on official rank promotion in Vietnam from September 17, 2024

Amendments to regulations on official rank promotion in Vietnam from September 17, 2024 (Image from internet)

On September 17, 2024, the Government of Vietnam promulgated Decree 116/2024/ND-CP on amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 138/2020/ND-CP which regulates the recruitment, use and management of officials, and Decree 06/2023/ND-CP which regulates the entrance quality assessment of officials.

1. Conditions for the official rank promotion examination in Vietnam

According to Article 30 of Decree 138/2020/ND-CP, the official rank promotion must be based on the job position, suitable with the official rank structure of the employing agency as approved by the competent authority.

Additionally, based on the number of promotion quotas of the employing agency or organization as approved by the competent authority, the managing agency of officials is responsible for reviewing, identifying, and making a list of officials who meet the criteria and conditions for the promotion examination.

An official may register for the promotion examination if they meet the following criteria and conditions:

(1) Rated at least "completed tasks well" in the year immediately preceding the promotion examination; possess good political ideals and ethics; not under disciplinary action, and not under the period of implementation of any disciplinary measures as prescribed in Article 82 of the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants 2008 (amended and supplemented by Clause 17, Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants and the Law on Public Employees 2019);

(2) Have the capacity, professional qualifications, and skills to take on a job position corresponding to a higher official rank within the same professional field;

(3) Meet the requirements for diplomas, certificates, and other professional and skill standards of the rank for which they are applying;

In cases where the official holds a professional degree that meets the foreign language or information technology requirements as per the corresponding standards of the rank for which they are applying, they meet the foreign language and IT standards required for the examination.

In cases where the official is exempt from foreign language or IT exams under Clause 6, Clause 7, Article 37 of Decree 138/2020/ND-CP, they meet the foreign language and IT standards of the rank for which they are applying.

(4) Meet the minimum work experience required for each official rank as specified in the professional and skill standards of the rank for which they are applying;

In cases where the official had prior working experience and paid compulsory social insurance before being recruited or accepted, in a position requiring suitable professional qualifications (if the working period was not continuous but have not received lump sum social insurance benefits), and that period was used by the competent authority to justify the salary grade of the current official rank, then it is considered equivalent to the current official rank.

In cases of having equivalent time, at least one year (12 months) must be spent in the rank immediately below the rank for which they are applying, calculated until the deadline for submitting the application for the promotion examination.

- The managing agency of officials is responsible before the law for the standards, conditions of the officials nominated for the promotion examination and to keep and manage the examination application files of officials in accordance with the law.

2. Amendments to regulations on official rank promotion in Vietnam from September 17, 2024

According to Article 31 of Decree 138/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree 116/2024/ND-CP), the official rank promotion in Vietnam is regulated as follows:

- Officials are considered for promotion in the following cases:

+ Meet all the standards and conditions specified in points (1), (2), (3) of Section 1 and have achievements in civil service activities recognized by competent authorities;

+ Meet all the standards and conditions specified in points (1), (2), (3) of Section 1 and are appointed to leadership or managerial positions as specified in Article 31b of Decree 138/2020/ND-CP.

- Principles for official rank promotion consideration:

+ Only consider promotion to the next immediate higher rank from the current rank. In cases of higher achievements than those required for promotion to the next immediate higher rank, promotion is still only considered to the next immediate higher rank, and these achievements cannot be used for future promotions.

+ Consideration of promotion for officials with achievements in civil service activities must ensure conformity with the rank structure approved by the competent authority; achievements must be within the time when holding the current rank and must ensure appropriate work positions for the promoted rank.

+ Consideration of promotion for officials appointed to leadership or managerial positions must be associated with the requirements of the job positions approved by the managing authority of officials.

- Within 30 days from the time officials meet all the standards, conditions for promotion consideration, the employing agency of officials is responsible for reviewing the compliance with standards, conditions, and promotion principles, and reporting to the managing authority of officials for consideration and decision-making authority as specified in Clause 1, Article 73 or Clause 1, Article 74 of Decree 138/2020/ND-CP (attached with the relevant documents).

- The head of the managing authority of officials or the head of the agency delegated the authority to appoint ranks is responsible before the law for the standards and conditions of officials considered for promotion; to keep and manage the promotion consideration files of officials in accordance with the law.

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