Building Competence. Crossing Borders.

Elective Public Management – Week 8

HR in the Public Sector

Prof. Dr. Andreas Bergmann

Institute of Public Management

andreas.bergmann@zhaw.ch

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Civil servants vs. Employees

Civil servants

Tenured status

• In Germany for lifetime

• Elsewhere typically for a few years (e.g. 4 to 6; almost guaranteed renewal)

High levels of values: Integrity, political impartiality, merit, loyalty, devotion to public service

Not contracted but elected, as consequence no normal termination of contract

In some countries separate pension schemes

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Civil servants vs. Employees

Employees

Contract or other forms of consensus mechanism

Loyalty limited to contractual obligations

Discontinuation possible, by both parties

Normal fringe benefits, similar to private sector

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Civil servants vs. Employees

Under NPM

Many countries change from (special status) civil servants to employees, in order to

• Increase flexibility

• Save cost

• Introduce performance management systems

„Hybridisation“

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Civil servants vs. Employees

Under NPM

Switzerland: Cantons abolish special status in 1990s, federal government in 2001

• Also for current civil servants

• Facilitated through identical pension system for employees and both sectors

• Free movement between sectors

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Civil servants vs. Employees

Under NPM

In Germany:

• Number of employees increased, now about 2/3

• But civil servant status maintained

- Separate pension schemes as main obstacle

• Retention of civil service status

- puts strong limitations on any form of Performance Management and any organizational change

- Inhibits any change of employment/sector of employment

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Civil servants vs. Employees

German pension system for civil servants

Only for civil servants, not for employees!

Pensions are „pay-as-you-go“, i.e. salary is paid (at reduced level, about 72 percent) even after retirement

Pensions are funded same as salaries, i.e. from government budget

Entitlement is based on last gross salary

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Civil servants vs. Employees

German pension system for civil servants

Large number of entitled civil

servants to increase

Supplementary pension scheme

(funded) only recently started

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References

EMERY, Y./GIAUQUE, D.: Employment in the public and private sectors: toward a confusing hybridization process. In: International Review of Public Administration, Vol. 71, 2005, 639-657.

KUHLMANN, S./RÖBER, M.: Civil Service in Germany: Characteristics of Public Employment and Modernization of Public Personnel Management. Paper presented at the meeting Modernization of State and Administration in Europe: A France-Germany Comparison, 14-15 May 2004, Bordeaux, Goethe-Institut.

OECD: Economic Survey of Germany. 2004.

WILSON, R.: Portrait of a profession revisited. In: Public Administration, Vol. 81, 2003, 365-378.