Public Service Commission

Audited Entities

• Public Service Commission (PSC)

Audit Scope and Objectives

• To assess whether out-of-scope positions within the classified division were staffed, during the 12 months ended August 31, 2010, in compliance with The Public Service Act, 1998 and regulations.

Audit Criteria

• The audit expected:
  • PSC and ministries to communicate the availability of positions for all competitive appointments.
  • the pre-set criteria to be documented and consistent with job duties set out in the current job description and with PSC’s competency framework.
  • PSC and ministries to evaluate if the reasons for staffing a position without a competitive process complied with the authorities and document why.
  • PSC and ministries to document the results of appraising candidates through screening, assessment, and key reference responses to show the candidate had merit.
  • PSC or a delegated authority would advise the successful candidate in writing of the selection decision (letter of offer) and would appoint the person who accepted the offer.
  • PSC would assign authority (where authority was delegated) for staffing in writing and clearly set out the roles and responsibilities for staffing of each party.
  • PSC would ensure it had sufficient documentation to show compliance with staffing authorities.

Main Audit Findings

• During the 12 months ended August 31, 2010, out-of-scope classified positions were staffed in compliance with The Public Service Act, 1998 and regulations.
• In May 2010, PSC increased the responsibilities of ministries by delegating staffing for out-of-scope positions to them. While PSC staff continue to be available for advice, ministry staff may not always consult them when staffing positions. As a result, it is critical that PSC communicate to ministry managers involved in staffing out-of-scope positions which steps of the staffing process are essential to select candidates based on merit.
• PSC’s service agreements with ministries that covered staffing processes included expectations about documentation. These service agreements explicitly required PSC to verify that managers responsible for staffing the position completed documentation of staffing actions. Although PSC expects documentation, it did not clearly set out what documents it expected managers to keep when staffing out-of-scope positions.
• The audit did not find evidence that PSC verified the completeness of staffing documentation. If documentation is not complete, PSC cannot readily demonstrate that its staffing processes complied with the Act and regulations and that appointments were made based on merit.

Audit Recommendations

• The Public Service Commission should establish and communicate minimum documentation requirements to evidence that appointments to out-of-scope positions within the classified division of the public service are made based on merit.
• The Public Service Commission should use a risk-based process to confirm that essential documentation related to staffing out-of-scope positions is kept.

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