APPOINTMENTS, PROMOTIONS, APPEALS AND DISCIPLINARY CASES

Appointments and Promotions

The PSC is the approving authority for the appointment of candidates to the Administrative Service and the promotion of these officers to Grade 7 and above. The PSC also appoints/promotes officers to Superscale Grade 9 and above in the Auditing Service, and to Superscale D/Grade 7 and above in the rest of the Civil Service.

In 2021, the PSC considered 31 candidates and found 20 suitable for appointment to the Administrative Service.

The PSC considered 36 officers for promotion to Superscale D/Grade 7 and above, including those in the Administrative Service. Of these, 32 officers were promoted.

The PSC considered and appointed an officer at Superscale Grade 9 and above in the Auditing Service. The PSC considered two officers and found them suitable for promotion to Superscale Grade 9 and above in the Auditing Service.

Appointment and Promotion of Chief Executive Officers of Statutory Boards

The PSC considers the suitability of candidates for appointment as Chief Executive Officers of Statutory Boards and subsequent renewals. The PSC also considers the suitability of the Chief Executive Officers for promotion to Superscale D/Grade 7 and above.

In 2021, the PSC considered and concurred with the agencies’ recommendation to

a) appoint 7 officers as new Chief Executive Officers;

b) renew the terms of 15 existing Chief Executive Officers; and

c) appoint 42 officers as Acting Chief Executive Officers.

Appeals

There were no appeals for promotion/against termination under the Public Service (Personnel Boards and Appeals Board) Regulations in 2021.

Discipline

The PSC is vested with the disciplinary control of civil servants under Article 110(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore. Civil servants who misconduct themselves are dealt with under one of the three disciplinary procedures^ listed below:

a) The Public Service (Disciplinary Proceedings) Regulations (“the Regulations”).

b) The Public Service Commission (Delegation of Disciplinary Functions) Directions (“the Directions”).

The PSC has delegated to the Permanent Secretaries, part of its functions pertaining to the discipline of officers for minor misconduct, and

c) The Public Service Commission (Prison Officers) (Disciplinary Proceedings – Delegation of Functions) Directions (“the Prisons Directions”).

The PSC has delegated to the Commissioner of Prisons, part of its functions pertaining to the discipline of junior Prisons Officers for minor misconduct.

^Officers may be disciplined under the Regulations when it involves serious misconducts; where the possible penalties include a dismissal or a reduction in rank. For less serious misconducts, officers may be disciplined under the Directions or Prison Directions, as appropriate.

Cases under the latter two categories are collectively known as being under “the Directions”.

In 2021, 172 new disciplinary cases were reported to the PSC. Together with 128 cases that were brought forward from 2020, the PSC processed a total of 300 cases in the year. Of these cases, 141 were completed, including 49 cases which were completed under the Regulations and 70 cases which were completed under the Directions. Formal disciplinary action was not instituted against the officers in the remaining 22 cases.

The most common types of misconduct for cases completed in 2021 under the Regulations were Non-Compliance of Orders, Dishonesty and Sexual Offences. Slightly more than half of all officers disciplined under the Regulations were dismissed or retired in the public interest at the conclusion of the disciplinary proceedings against them. Details of the 49 cases completed under the Regulations in 2021 are in Table 1.