Chapter 12: Salaries

1200. The salaries payable to all public officers are contained in the annual approved estimates of revenue and expenditure.
1201. The provisions concerning acting allowances are given in Chapter 3.
1202. Full salary will be paid to a public officer with effect from the date of arrival in The Bahamas on first appointment.
1204. An officer who is appointed to The Service of another Government or body, on transfer or secondment, will receive salary from The Bahamas Government up to and including the date preceding the date on which he begins his journey to take up his new appointment, if he does not take leave before taking up the appointment, or; up to and including the date on which his leave expires, if he does take such leave.
1205. An officer on promotion will receive the salary of his new appointment from the date upon which he assumes the duties of the new post.
1206. No salary will be paid to an officer in respect of any period during which he has been absent from duty without leave.
1207. Except where there is statutory provision, salary or pension due to a deceased public officer, or; pensioner may be paid to such person or persons as The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service may consider entitled thereto without requiring the production of letters testamentary, or; letters of administration.
1208. Salaries will be paid two days before the last working day of the month. When this day falls on a Saturday, or; a Monday, payment will be made on the preceding Thursday, or; Friday. In the month of December, salaries, pensions, etc... shall be paid on dates to be determined by the Treasurer.

Increments

1220. Every person appointed to a post in The Public Service will enter the appropriate scale of salary at the bottom of the scale unless The Governor General upon the recommendation of The Public Service Commission approves of such person entering such scale at any higher incremental point.
1221. Except where otherwise provided by Law, the incremental date of every officer shall be the first day of the month in which he was appointed next following completion of not less than 11 months, or; more than 12 months service in the scale of salary to which he is appointed, unless The Governor General, acting on the recommendation of The Public Service Commission, shall in any case otherwise determine.
1222. A recommendation whether to grant, defer, or; withhold an increment of an officer will be submitted to the appropriate Service Commission, except that in the case of officers serving in the offices specified in The Public Service (delegation of powers) Order, the power to grant defer, or; withhold increments is delegated to Permanent Secretaries of Departments intergrated within Ministries, and to Heads of Departments where the Department is not organized under a Permanent Secretary.
1223. The procedure in relation to officers in respect of whom the power to grant, defer, or; withhold increments is not delegated, is as follows:

1. four weeks before the incremental date the Head of Department will complete the increments schedule and report (P.S.C. Form 5) and submit them to The Permanent Secretary for forwarding, with any observations that The Permanent Secretary may wish to make to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service. The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service will add his/her own comment, and submit the papers to The Public Service Commission.
2. the P.S.C. Form 5 must show, in respect of each officer included, the Head of Department it's assessment of the officer's efficiency, official conduct, and attendance.
3. where it is proposed to defer, or; withhold an increment, the reasons must be given, and must be communicated to the officer. Only one copy of this report is required. The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service will notify the decision to The Permanent Secretary or Head of Department.
   (3) all D and E markings on P.S.C. Form 5 must be accompanied by an explanatory statement.

1224. An increment schedule and report will not be regarded as a mere formality, and the Head of Department and The Permanent Secretary will recognize their responsibility for the accuracy of the statements in any schedule and report that they submit. The grant of an increment is in no way to be treated as automatic.
1225. An officer must earn the increment by satisfactory conduct, and by discharging his duties with efficiency, diligence and fidelity. Unpunctuality, or; a poor record of attendance shall be sufficient reason to defer, or; withhold an increment, and Heads of Departments must draw attention to any failings of officers in their Department, even those included in the schedule for the grant of increments.
1226. The withholding of an increment is not an appropriate penalty for a particular dereliction of duty where the officer qualifies for an increment in other respects. For a particular shortcoming the usual disciplinary measure such as reprimand should be used.
1227. Where the decision on increments has not been delegated and the Head of Department or The Permanent Secretary is unable to certify that the officer has performed his duties with efficiency, diligence and fidelity, he will notify the officer of this in writing and obtain his acknowledgement and report accordingly to The Public Service Commission through The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service that the grant of the increment be deferred, or; withheld.
1228. An officer appointed or promoted to a post on probation is eligible, if it is not otherwise provided, for an increment after his first year's service is subject to confirmation.
1229. If for any reason such as his recent assumption of the post or recent return from long leave, the Head of Department is not in a position to advise The Permanent Secretary in the matter of an increment certificate, he must delegate The Deputy Head or another senior officer who is in a position to do so.
1230. If an officer's increment falls due while he is absent from The Bahamas, the Head of Department or The Permanent Secretary will make his recommendation in the normal way, and if the increment is approved, the usual procedure will be followed. The Treasury will issue any necessary instruction regarding payment of the increment to The Crown Agents if the officer is on leave in the United Kingdom, or; to The Government through which salary is being paid.If the officer is on scholarship his increments would not be paid until he returns.
1231. If an officer possesses or acquires such special qualifications as, in the opinion of The Public Service Commission, justifies his being advanced in the salary scale in which he is employed to an incremental point in such scale above the incremental point at which he is then serving, whether or not such advancement would take the officer beyond an efficiency bar, the Commission may advance such officer in such scale to such incremental point.
1232. Increments beyond an efficiency bar will not be granted until the officer concerned has satisfied the appropriate Service Commission that he has reached that degree of efficiency and responsibility in the performance of his duties.
1233. Where the award of an increment has been deferred the increment may be granted as from the incremental date in which case the arrears due may be paid to the officer concerned.
1234. Where an increment has been withheld for a period of less than one year the officer concerned shall be entitled to draw the increased salary as from the day following the close of the period on which the increment has been withheld and shall be eligible for a further increment on the next incremental date.
1235. Where an increment has been withheld for a year the officer concerned shall be eligible for one increment and no more on the next incremental date.

Efficiency Bars

1240. An efficiency bar which occurs at an intermediate point in a salary scale is a bar over which advancement is dependent upon qualifications, efficiency and general suitability for advancement. Efficiency bars occur at those points marked "(Bar)" in salary scales.
1241. Subject to the provisions of General Orders 1232 and 1233 no increment of salary beyond an efficiency bar shall be granted until the officer concerned has satisfied The Public Service Commission that he has reached a sufficient degree of efficiency and responsibility in the performance of his duties. The procedure to be observed where an officer due for an increment is at the efficiency bar as given at General Order 1233.
1242. Six months before an officer is due to reach an efficiency bar, the Head of his Department must give preliminary consideration as to whether or not the officer may be considered fit to proceed beyond the bar. This period is necessary in order that ample warning may be conveyed to an officer who is thought to be below standard so as to give him a chance to improve before he actually reaches the bar. If the Head of Department considers that an officer is below standard, he must at this stage warn him in writing of the fact and draw attention to any shortcomings.
1243. Officers who are within three months of their efficiency bar may be required to sit an examination conducted by The Public Service Commission and to be interviewed by that body.
1244. The following subjects may be prescribed for the efficiency bar examination:

1. General Orders,
2. Financial Instructions,
3. Stores Rules,
4. Machinery of Government,
5. Current events,
6. Accuracy with figures.

The examinees command of the English language will be judged by his use of it in making his written answers to the questions on the above subjects.

Advances

1250. An officer may, with the sanction of The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service, receive an advance under the provisions of The Public Service (vehicles) Regulations, for the purchase of a motor vehicle, where he must undertake travelling in the course of his official duties which can be most advantageously and economically done by means of personally owned transport. Applications for advances must be submitted through the Head of Department to The Permanent Secretary for transmission, with recommendations, to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service.
1251. Such a loan will bear interest at 8% per annum and shall be repaid by the officer concerned over a period not exceeding three years by way of monthly deductions from salary, or; otherwise as may be agreed between him and the Treasurer.
1252. Where the vehicle is not essential for the performance of official duties, The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service will submit the case to The Deputy Prime Minister for a ruling as to whether or not a loan from The Public Officers Loan Fund can be recommended to the Treasurer.
1253. Advances from The Public Officers Loan Fund bear interest at 8% per annum, and must be repaid within two years by monthly deductions from salary, or; by some other arrangement agreed with the Treasurer. Such loans are not made to temporary officers.
1254. The rules governing the amounts that may be advanced under the foregoing General Orders in this Section are set out at Appendix C.
1255. Every officer to whom a loan is granted for the purchase of a motor vehicle shall, as a condition thereof, insure the motor vehicle concerned comprehensively with an insurer approved by The Governor General in an amount at least equal to the amount of the loan as from the date of purchase, and shall keep the vehicle so insured until the loan is repaid in full.
1256. An officer may be subject to the approval of The Permanent Secretary, receive an advance of salary to be repaid in accordance with such terms as may be agreed in order to:

1. provide for himself, or; for his immediate family, medical, dental or ophthalmic treatment, if he has not sufficient private means to meet the necessary expenditure;
2. purchase spectacles, dentures or hearing aid;
3. secure financing for official travel for which payment of subsistence allowance is anticipated.

1257. An advance received under General Order 1256 (3) must be accounted for by a claim for subsistence within twenty-one days of the return from absence on duty.
1258. The Permanent Secretary may, if special circumstances warrant it, grant an advance of one months salary repayable in six installments. Deferment of the deductions will not normally be allowed.
1258 (A). The Permanent Secretary may grant an advance not exceeding two months salary on first appointment, repayable in six installments.
1259. Advances of salary, other than those specified in this Chapter, will only be granted in very exceptional cases with the prior approval of The Minister for Finance and approval will be limited to circumstances of serious illness, or; unforeseen domestic calamity, or; where the officer can show that he could not reasonably have been expected to make prior provision for the expenditure with which he is faced.
1260. An advance in salary for any purpose will not be made unless any advance already made under a specific General Order has been repaid.

Fees

1265. References are made in Chapter 9 to the conditions governing the earning of fees by officers in The Public Service.
1266. Whether or not fees that an officer receives, other than the fees of office, form part of his pensionable emoluments, they are required to be paid into the Treasury, and the amount to which the officer is entitled will then be issued to him monthly on a proper Voucher.
1267. Fees of any office are payable in full to the officer actually carrying on the duties of the office.

Overtime

1270. The normal hours of work are 40 in each week, including one hour luncheon break each day Monday to Friday.
1271. Payment of overtime to public officers will be made only in respect of hours worked in excess of 40 in any one week.
1272 Unless specifically, and in each case approved, overtime payments may be made to Government servants who are remunerated on the series of salary scales which start below $21,550 (w.e.f. 1/7/06). Officers on the X3 scale or an other scales above $21,550 (w.e.f. 1/7/06) who are not eligible for payment of overtime may be granted casual leave at the rate of ten (10) working days a year subject to the exigencies of The Service. Casual leave may not be added to vacation leave, or; half pay leave; nor may it be accumulated.
1273. The liability of Government servants to work overtime, and the fact that they work overtime, will be recognized by overtime payment as follows:
(i) for attendance on Sundays, Public Holidays, and on any night between the hours of 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m. at the rate of double time for actual hours worked.
(ii) for attendance on ordinary working days between the hours of 6.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. and outside the regular working hours at the rate of time and a half.
1274. Fractions of an hour overtime will be aggregated over a period of a month, and on aggregation overtime will be payable for a fraction of an hour as if it were a full hour, and where an officer returns to duty, or is called out for duty for overtime work for part of an hour only, a full hour's rate will be payable.
1275. No Government servants, qualified for overtime payments, shall receive such payments in respect of periods in excess of thirty-five hours in any one month unless they are authorized by The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service. Such payments will not normally be approved unless they relate to periods worked in connection with an emergency.
1276. On the days listed in Appendix D and on any other day declared from time to time to be a public holiday all public offices will close, except that those offices that must provide an immediate service to the public on the day following Good Friday shall remain open on that day during the usual hours.
1277. Officers who are required to work on a public holiday, or other day when Government Offices are closed will normally be given a day off in lieu thereof. The day off will normally be granted within one month following the holiday, and will be decided having regard to the exigencies of The Service.
1278. Government servants engaged on essential services only, who are required to work on a Public Holiday may be remunerated at the rate of a day's pay, plus double pay for actual hours worked, and will receive no day off in lieu.