Chapter 5: Promotions

500. All promotions other than those for which provision is made in The Constitution are made by The Governor General acting on the recommendation of The Public Service Commission. The names and commendations of officers who are within the field for promotion and who have the official qualifications, experience and merit will be put before The Public Service Commission by The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service.
501. Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments must submit to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service on the first of April, or; the first of October each year, a list of all vacancies in the Departments, and their recommendations for promotions.
502. Submissions to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service of lists of candidates for promotion will state any reasons why The Permanent Secretary or Head of Department may consider any candidate to be unsuited to fill the post in question, despite the candidate's possession of the requisite qualifications.
503. Promotion is defined in The Public Service Commission Regulations as conferment upon a person in The Public Service of a public office to which is attached a higher salary or higher salary scale than that attached to the public office to which he was last substantively appointed.
504. Regulation 18 of The Public Service Commission Regulations provide that in considering the claims of persons in The Public Service for promotion, merit and ability shall be taken into account as well as seniority, experience and official qualifications. Recommendations made to The Public Service Commission for promotion must state whether the person recommended is the senior officer in the Department or grade eligible for promotion and, where this is not the case, detailed reasons shall be given in respect of each person in that same Department or grade over whom it is proposed the person recommended should be promoted.
505. In promotions to posts in which the work is of a routine character, seniority shall be allowed more weight than in the case of promotion where greater responsibilities and initiative are involved. For senior posts, merit, experience and ability, assume greater importance than seniority.
506. The consideration governing all promotions should be the advancement of the efficiency of The Public Service.
507. It should be brought to the attention of all public officers that promotion of an officer is not given solely on account of an excellence of performance of the duties of the present post but also in recognition of an ability to meet satisfactorily the requirements of the higher office.
508. Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments must not arouse in the minds of their staff hopes of preferment that are not in their power to fulfill. This applies not only to promotions to a higher office, but also to increases of salary without promotion.
509. Recommendations for promotions will be made to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service by Permanent Secretaries in consultation with Heads of Departments, or; where there is no Permanent Secretary, by Heads of Departments direct, and should in suitable cases propose a starting salary point in the higher scale which they consider appropriate, having regard to the rule that incremental dates are the first day of the month in which the promotion is made. Recommendations as to starting point should be made on the reverse of P.S.C. Form 2, and should state the officer's existing incremental date.
510. The following information must be available when recommendations for promotion are being considered:

1. the date on which the higher office will be vacant;
2. the date the officer first performed the duties of the higher office, where this is applicable;
3. any reasons for not making the recommendation immediately the higher office fell vacant.

511. When a post falls vacant, the Head of the Department must first decide if it should be filled by the promotion of a serving officer, and if he so decides, P.S.C Form 2 must be completed and forwarded in duplicated under confidential cover, to The Permanent Secretary of The Ministry, for forwarding to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service, who will place the recommendation before The Public Service Commission. The Commission will consult The Prime Minister where it is constitutionally bound to do so and will subsequently make a recommendation to The Governor General. If the promotion is made, The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service will notify The Permanent Secretary and the Head of Department and the officer concerned, and will publish the appropriate notice in the Official Gazette. If the promotion is not approved, The Permanent Secretary of The of Public Service will advise The Permanent Secretary and Head of Department accordingly, and the Head of Department will be invited to submit alternative proposals for filling the vacancy.
512. Not withstanding the provisions of General Orders, it shall be open to The Public Service Commission to recommend to The Governor General such other effective date of promotion as The Commission may determine having regard to the ability of the officer concerned fully to discharge the duties of the office to which he is promoted, the need to consider questions of seniority and such other circumstances as may seem to The Commission to be relevant.
513. Promotion exercises should be undertaken at regular intervals and a survey made of all officers within the promotion zone. In normal circumstances Permanent Secretaries are expected to foresee the occurrence of vacancies in promotion posts and to make prompt proposals for filling them in such time as will ensure that an officer has been approved for a promotion to a post as soon as it falls vacant, thus obviating difficulties arising from delayed promotions. Where however, the application of the above rules will create irregularities or inequalities an alternative effective date of promotion may be fixed by the appropriate authority. A promotion may be made effective before the date on which an officer actually assumes duty in the new post where:

1. through no fault of his own he is unable to assume duty in the new post on the approved date of promotion;
2. to delay his promotion would adversely affect his seniority relative to any other officer promoted at the same time.

514. Promotion may involve transfer from one Department to another,or; from one Ministry to another.