Many civil servants will be aware of the Civil Service Commission’s role in recruitment – providing independent assurance of appointment on merit after a fair and open competition – but we also have a second, equally important role in promoting the Civil Service Code and hearing appeals from civil servants.
As someone who joined mid-career from the private sector, I have an enormous amount of respect and affection for the civil service. As such, I am delighted to have recently been appointed as first civil service commissioner, chairing the Board of 10 commissioners who collectively regulate the civil service.
I am a firm believer that the basic principles of fair and open competition and the values set out in the Civil Service Code - honesty, impartiality, integrity and objectivity – are worth protecting. Indeed, I think many other organisations both in the public and private sectors would like to have such a clearly-defined and widely recognised ethical brand.
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The core values are a fundamental part of our constitution and define the standards of behaviour that the public expect right across the civil service – from a civil servant in a local JobCentre helping someone get back into work to a permanent secretary giving evidence to the Public Accounts Committee.
The high level of trust in the civil service (as reported most recently by Ipsos MORI) is a reflection of these values. Even when faced with tough financial decisions or a challenge as complex as Brexit, knowing that it is being carried out honestly, objectively, impartially and with integrity matters a great deal.
"The core values are a fundamental part of our constitution and define the standards of behaviour that the public expect right across the civil service"
Although it seems long established, the code only dates back to the mid 1990’s. The code centred on these four civil service values then became statutory under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act passed in 2010. In having a written code setting out the values and expectations of its staff, the civil service was (not for the first time!) ahead of its time.
As well as providing assurance that appointments are made on merit after fair and open competition, the commission hears appeals from civil servants under the code. We also work with Departments to ensure that all staff are made aware of the code and how they can raise a concern if they feel that the code is being breached.
For the last five years, the annual Civil Service People Survey has recorded high levels of awareness of the code – last year at 90% – which I find heartening. But less comfortable is the 66% figure of staff saying they would know how to raise a concern under the code, and only 68% reporting they feel confident that it would be investigated properly.
Confidence
One of my first engagements in the new role was to take part in an event organised by Civil Service Employee Policy for nominated officers; the staff in departments who are the first point of contact for anyone who is aware of wrongdoing or a breach of the values of the code. Nominated officers can advise staff on interpretation of the Code and how to take a concern forward – either through the department’s own procedures or direct to the commission.
Commonly, concerns are resolved in the management line – but the Nominated Officers are important in making sure staff can speak to someone outside the management line in whom they can have confidence.
I was impressed by how knowledgeable and committed to their roles the Nominated Officers were. The importance of creating and maintaining a culture of speaking up was stressed by a number of speakers at the event, as well as the importance of a simple process for dealing with concerns and complaints.
"In the majority of cases, it is usually better that concerns are dealt with within the department in which they arise"
In the majority of cases, it is usually better that concerns are dealt with within the department in which they arise. If a department can address and resolve concerns itself then it can learn from the process. But if a civil servant’s concern cannot be reasonably resolved within the department, they can come to us at the independent commission.
There may also be circumstances in which the commission would take a complaint directly. Our role, however, relates exclusively to concerns under the code. We can’t consider personnel management grievances, disagreements about the merits of policy or disagreements about management decisions. You can see anonymised summaries of the outcome of complaints brought to us on our website, along with conclusions or recommendations we have made to the department.
If you have a question or a comment, the Civil Service Commission is holding an online Open Week about its work from today (November 21), until November 25. Independent Commissioners will be on duty throughout the week to take questions or hear your thoughts on the commission’s work in upholding the values set out in the Civil Service Code, and also in providing assurance that recruitment to the civil service is made on merit after fair and open competition.
We hope that both members of the public and civil servants join in, find out more about what we do, and tell us what they think.
If you would like to contact the Commission as part of Open Week you can e-mail us at info@csc.gov.uk or send us a question or comment via the Commission’s Twitter account @CivServComm. Questions and answers will be posted on our dedicated Open Week Page throughout the week on our website.