Chapter 2: Appointments

200. The Public Service Commission (PSC) makes recommendations to The Governor General on the appointment of Public Officers other than those in respect of whom The Governor General delegated his powers of appointment. The functions and powers of The Commission are set out in detail in The Constitution and The Public Service Commission Regulations.
201. First appointments can be made as follows:

1. on probation;
2. on contract;
3. on temporary terms;
4. on hourly, daily, or weekly rates, and part-time.

202. When a post becomes vacant, it may be filled by the appointment of a candidate with the requisite qualifications and experience from within or outside The Service. Normally, the claims of meritorious officers, with adequate qualifications, already in The Service will take precedence, over those persons not in The Service.
203. The procedure for making all appointments in The Public Service is described in The Public Service Commission Regulations.
204. The interest of a Permanent Secretary and Head of Department in securing the appointment of a suitable candidate is acknowledged, and when candidates are interviewed locally they will normally be invited to sit with The Commission.
205. In the case of overseas recruitment The Overseas Development Administration and/or The Crown Agents will be asked to submit details of recommended candidates for consideration by The Local Commission, in consultation with The Permanent Secretary and/or Head of Department.
206. Although all vacancies that are not filled by promotion should be advertised in the public interest and in the interest of The Service, a vacancy may be filled by appointment of a named person, if the above methods have failed to produce results or are inappropriate. But even where the filling of a vacancy is urgent and the Head of Department knows of a suitable candidate, the normal method should be to advertise the post and invite the candidate to apply. Exceptionally then, where appointment of a named person is to be considered The Head of Department must submit P.S.C. Form I in duplicate to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service through their Permanent Secretary giving as much detail as possible about the person recommended.
207. The appointment is the responsibility of The Governor General and no Head of Department or any officer in a Department has the authority to respond to any question of the appointment or the terms of the appointment. All such matters must be referred to, and dealt with by, The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service alone, but there will be the fullest measure of consultation between The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service and The Permanent Secretary and/or Head of Department, and the appropriate Commission.
208. The effective date of a first appointment is the date on which a public officer becomes eligible to receive full salary. In the case of officers selected for appointment from outside The Bahamas this will be the date of arrival in The Bahamas. If appointment locally, the date of appointment will be the date the officer assumes duty. The date of assumption of duty is the date of commencement of resident service.
209. No officer who has been dismissed from the Service, whether from a pensionable or a non-pensionable post, may be re-employed in any capacity without prior reference to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service, who will submit the matter to The Public Service Commission.
210. Any proposal to offer appointment to any person other than a Bahamian must first be referred to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service, who will seek The Deputy Prime Minister's decision as to whether or not an offer should be made.
211. The offices in respect of which the power to appoint has been delegated are given in The Public Service (Delegation of Powers) Order.
212. Where an empowered officer makes an appointment under the provisions of The Public Service (Delegation of Powers) Order, he must act in accordance with the relevant Public Service Commission Regulations, and the following conditions and restrictions shall apply:

1. Every appointment shall be made at the minimum of the salary scale or at a salary determined with the agreement of The Public Service Commission.
2. Even appointments other than a temporary appointment shall be on probation for twelve months, and confirmation of appointments after completion of probation shall in all cases be referred to The Public Service Commission.
3. Every temporary appointment shall be on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
4. All vacancies which are not filled by promotion must be advertised in the Local Press. Advertisements should be as brief as possible, giving the name of The Department concerned, a statement of qualifications required, and duties to be performed, a salary or salary scale, the address to which applications should be sent, and the closing date for applications to be received.
5. The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service will arrange for appointments to be Gazette.

213. Where any empowered officer exercises any of the powers delegated to him he shall at once make a report in duplicate to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service and a copy of such report will be forwarded to The Public Service Commission. For each appointment made the report shall be accompanied by a carefully completed P.S.C. Form 7 and a signed copy of the letter of appointment signifying the officer's acceptance of the offer of appointment.
214. To be eligible for appointment to The Public Service, the candidate must:

1. possess such minimum educational qualifications as may be prescribed from time to time, 
2. except in the case of appointment to the temporary staff, be certified by a Government Medical Officer, to be in sound health, and medically fit for employment in The Service, and
3. provide the names of at least three referees, one of which, if the candidate has not previously been in employment, must be the head of the school or college he last attended, or; if he has previously been employed, his last employer.

215. No fee is payable to The Medical Officer for the examination at General Order 214(2).
216. All applications for employment from persons who have served a prison sentence following a criminal conviction must be first referred by The Ministry, or; Department, or; by The Public Service Commission to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service before any further action to appoint is taken. After obtaining a report from The Department of Social Welfare, The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service will submit it, together with his recommendations to The Deputy Prime Minister and in due course refer the paper to The Public Service Commission. The decision of The Public Service Commission, in the case of an applicant who may be appointed under delegated powers, will be conveyed to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service who will inform The Ministry or Department concerned. In other cases The Commission will either proceed to make a recommendation to appoint, or; will inform The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service that The Commission is not prepared to make a recommendation and The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service will inform The Ministry or Department accordingly. Employment of a person with a criminal conviction may only be on temporary terms in the first instance.
217. The Government Medical Officer must state in the certificate made on examination of a candidate for The Service that he has made a complete and thorough examination and that he has inquired into the candidate's family history.
218. Permanent Secretaries will ensure that no salary is paid to a newly-appointed officer until a Medical Certificate has been produced. If the person selected fails to produce a certificate within one month from the date of notification of selection, the appointment may be deemed to be canceled.
219. If an officer is found to be not fit for service, the appointment shall not be proceeded with.
220. If the officer has already passed the prescribed medical examination in respect of any appointment immediately preceding the appointment in question, no further examination will be required.
221. The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service may at any time (and shall, if the officer so requests) call upon an officer to present himself for examination by a Government Medical Officer or by a duly constituted Medical Board, with a view to ascertaining that the officer is physically, and mentally capable of performing the duties of his appointment or those of any office in The Service to which it may be proposed to appoint him.
222. Any fees in respect of examinations carried out under General Order 221 shall, in the absence of any special regulations or arrangement to the contrary be paid by Government.
223. On first appointment an officer is required to notify The Permanent Secretary of The Ministry where he is employed the names and addresses of not more than two relatives, or; friends whom he wishes to be informed in the event of his death or serious illness. Any change in these particulars must be notified promptly to The Permanent Secretary.
Probation
230. The appointment of an officer to The Pensionable Establishment is normally subject to a period of probation for not less than one year nor more than five years.
231. When an officer is appointed to a pensionable office after service on the non-pensionable establishment in an office in which he has been performing the same or similar duties, the period of his probation in the pensionable post may be reduced, if so recommended by The Public Service Commission, provided there is no break between his non-pensionable and his pensionable service.
232. When an officer is appointed to the pensionable establishment after the satisfactory completion of a period of service on contract, the period of probation in the pensionable post may be reduced if so recommended by The Public Service Commission provided that there is no break between his service on contract and his pensionable service.
233. An officer who is re-appointed after a break in service may be required to undergo a period of probation.
234. The period of probation begins on the date of assumption of duty on probation in the appointment. During the period of probation the officer should be regarded as being on trial with a view to learning his work and being tested as to his suitability for it. He should therefore not only be given all possible facilities for acquiring experience in his duties but should be kept under continual and sympathetic observation and, so far as is practicable, should not be posted where such observation is impossible. It is the responsibility of Heads of Departments to pay special attention to the training of officers on probation. If at any time during the period of probation the officer should exhibit tendencies which render it any way doubtful that he will be suitable for permanent retention, he should at once be warned and given such assistance as may be possible to correct his faults.
235. Heads of Departments will first report to The Permanent Secretary half way through the period of probation, on the conduct and work of officers on probation in their Departments. The second report will be made six weeks before the end of the probationary period.
236. Whenever an empowered officer is required to consider whether a probationer should be confirmed in his appointment, or; serve a further period on probation, or; should not remain in The Public Service, he must observe the procedure laid down in Regulation 28 of The Public Service Commission Regulations.
Contract Appointments
255. Contract appointments are made by formal agreements for a specified period and do not provide for the payment of a pension. Beyond such period, any further employment of the officer concerned must be made the subject of a new contract, or; an extension of the period of employment in the original contract.
256. The conditions of service of an officer on contract are those provided for in his contract, but he may, during the period of the duration of his contract, benefit from the conditions of service applicable to pensionable officers of equivalent grade, unless it is specifically provided otherwise in these General Orders' or elsewhere.
257. An officer serving on contract who desires re-engagement must, six months before he is due to proceed on leave at the expiry of his current contract, (or; with whatever other period of notice specified in the contract) notify The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service through his Head of Department and Permanent Secretary. In the absence of such notification it will be assumed that the officer does not desire re-engagement. As soon as it can be assumed that an officer on contract does not wish to be re-engaged, The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service will inform The Public Service Commission of the position and inform the officer that he has done so.
258. On receipt of an application for re-engagement The Permanent Secretary will forward it to The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service together with his recommendations. The decision on re-engagement will be conveyed by the appropriate authority to the officer concerned and to The Permanent Secretary of The Ministry where he is employed.
259. Provided re-engagement is completed by the signing of a new contract before the end of the leave granted under the expiring contract, or; the end of the period of the expiring contract if leave has already been taken, service under the new contract will be treated as continuous with service under the former contract.
260. If a re-engaged officer is required to return to duty under his new contract before the expiration of all leave due under his former contract the leave foregone will be treated as deferred leave to be enjoyed under the conditions of the new contract.
261. An officer engaged on contract has no right to expect promotion. Where however, The Public Service Commission considers that a higher post than that held by the officer on contract cannot suitably be filled by promotion of a pensionable officer, he may be selected to fill it.
Temporary Appointments
270. General Orders apply to temporary officers in the same way that they apply to officers on the pensionable establishment.
271. The period of notice of termination of temporary employment that is remunerated on a monthly basis shall be one month, or; there shall be a payment of one month's salary in lieu of notice made by either the appropriate party or the officer. In the case of employment on a daily or weekly basis the period of notice and payment in lieu of notice shall be one week.
273. Temporary non-pensionable appointments may be on a daily weekly or monthly basis and should not be for more than twelve months. Any temporary appointment which will exceed this period must receive the prior approval of The Permanent Secretary of The Public Service, and this will be given only in very exceptional circumstances.