Three bills proposing significant changes to the public sector hiring process were submitted to parliament on Thursday, following their approval by the Council of Ministers on 8 April.
The three pieces of legislation are: the Evaluation of Candidates for Appointment to the Public Service Law of 2026, the Public Service (Amendment) Law of 2026, and the Evaluation of Candidates for Appointment to the Public Service (Temporary Provisions) Law of 2026.
Written exams tied to actual vacancies
The first and most substantive bill seeks to overhaul the way entry-level positions in the public service are filled. Under the proposed changes, general written examinations would be held after vacancies are announced rather than in advance, so that candidates sit exams with specific posts in mind rather than in the abstract. The aim, as stated in the explanatory report accompanying the legislation, is to make the process more targeted and better aligned with the actual staffing needs of public services. Candidates would know in advance whether there are vacancies for which they qualify before committing to the preparation and fee required to sit an exam.
The bill also proposes that vacant positions be published during the first two months of each year, rather than every four months, in order to accelerate the filling of posts. It further removes the current requirement for annual lists of positions subject to written examination to be submitted to parliament for approval. The explanatory report notes that the complexity of that approval process causes delays, introduces unnecessary bureaucracy, and creates risk, given that parliament can only approve or reject the lists outright without the ability to amend them.
Under the bill, positions for which a special written examination is justified on the basis of documented particular characteristics or difficulties in filling them would be determined by a Council of Ministers decree issued each December, ahead of the following year's vacancy announcements. The special committee currently responsible for administering the general written examination would be abolished, with the Public Service Commission taking over as the competent administrative body for all written examinations.
The bill also increases the weighting assigned to the assessment by a candidate's immediate departmental superior during the oral examination before the Public Service Commission, raising the score range from 0–5 to 0–15 points. The Commission itself may award candidates up to 20 points at the oral examination stage.
Transitional provisions for 2026
The third bill provides that the written examination ordinarily held during the final four months of each year by the special committee for entry-level public service positions will not take place this cycle. It also suspends the submission to parliament of the annual lists of positions for 2026. The legislation notes that this will not affect appointments during 2026, as candidates who passed the written examination held in the final quarter of 2025 remain eligible to apply for any vacancy published this year, provided they hold the required qualifications.