Division III officers to be re‑employed at same grade and salary

Date: 29 July 2013

DIVISION III OFFICERS TO BE RE-EMPLOYED AT SAME GRADE AND SALARY

They join Division IV officers who have been on these terms since 1 April 2012

From 1 August 2013, all re-employed Division III public officers will continue at the same grade and salary. These officers typically perform clerical duties or front-line operational functions. Division IV officers have, since 1 April 2012, already been re-employed at the same grade and salary.

The revision provides greater certainty for lower-wage public officers when they are re-employed. This is one of the outcomes of a Public Service Division (PSD) review of Public Service re-employment guidelines. The review, which started early this year, was done in consultation with the public sector unions and took into account private sector practices.

Currently, most public officers who are re-employed at the same grade have their salaries adjusted to the mid-point of their salary range. This is in line with the Tripartite Guidelines on Re-employment of Older Employees. 

The revised Public Service guidelines will also see more re-employed Division I and II officers continuing at the same grade and salary. For those whose salaries are to be adjusted, the adjustment is capped at 15%. This is in line with private sector market practice after the Retirement and Re-employment Act came into effect in January 2012.

Summing up the changes, Mr Tan Hoe Soon, Director of Career Development and Management, PSD, said:  “The revised re-employment guidelines will see the majority of public officers re-employed at the same grade and same salary. Some Division I and II officers who are re-employed at the same grade may experience a salary reduction, which will be no more than 15%. PSD will continue to monitor private sector practice and will offer fair re-employment terms that are reflective of market practice.

“The Public Service values the experience and skills of our mature officers. With the revised terms, we hope to encourage more able officers to continue working after they turn 62 years,” he added.

Background

The PSD drew up a set of guidelines in consultation with public service agencies and public sector unions, to provide a structured framework on the re-employment of officers up to age 65 years in the Public Service. The guidelines, which are aligned with the Tripartite Guidelines on Re-employment of Older Employees, took effect on 1 July 2011. Nine in 10 retiring public officers have been offered re-employment in the past two years.