142nd regular session of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia 20 February 2025

The proposed Public Employees Act (ZJU-1) aims to enhance the efficiency of the public employee system, thereby improving the quality of public administration services. It focuses on strengthening the competence and independence of public employees while increasing flexibility in human resource management within public administration. A key innovation introduced by the ZJU-1 is the establishment of a Human Resources Centre, which will serve as central body for managing employees within state administration. Its responsibilities will include developing public employees' competences, implementing revised selection procedures for public office holder positions, awarding scholarships and assisting state bodies in labour law procedures. The Human Resources Centre will also oversee selection procedures for public office holders in other state bodies (such as the National Assembly, the National Council, the National Review Commission, the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, and the Court of Audit) and in local community administrations that opt to join the internal labour market. However, due to the specific nature of their work, the selection process will not apply to the police, authorised officials of the Prison Administration and other public employees governed by special regulations (such as military personnel, intelligence officers). As part of the revised selection process, the Human Resources Centre will act as a single entry point, ensuring a standardised and transparent assessment of candidates' competences in the initial stage. Additionally, the selection process will be digitalised to streamline and expedite the procedure. The Human Resources Centre, operating within the Ministry of Public Administration, will handle the first stage of selection, including job announcements, receipt of applications, eligibility checks, written tests and core competence assessments. Candidates who pass this stage will proceed to the second stage, which will be conducted by the respective recruiting body. This system is comparable to recruitment models in several EU countries, including Italy, Portugal, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland and, more recently, Croatia. Beyond strengthening competence and independence, the ZJU-1 also introduces improvements in training and upskilling to ensure continuous skills enhancement among public employees. This is expected to improve the quality of public administration services while increasing flexibility in human resource management, including measures to encourage public employee mobility. To address growing staff shortages, the ZJU-1 also reintroduces government scholarships for state administration jobs.

The proposal for the Public Office Holders Act sets out the requirements for holding office and the rights of public office holders in state bodies and self-governing local communities in Slovenia. This is a systemic act that governs the legal status of both professional and non-professional public office holders. While largely maintaining the existing rights framework, the Act aims to provide a clearer definition of public office holders' rights and responsibilities, ensuring that expense reimbursements are aligned with those applicable to public employees. Furthermore, it sets out public office holders' rights while in office, including expense reimbursement, salary compensation, annual leave, paid absence for personal circumstances, legal aid and training. Salaries for professional public office holders remain regulated under the Common Foundations of the Public Sector Salary System Act. Additionally, the Act proposal defines rights after leaving office, such as the right to return to a previous job, the right to legal aid, eligibility for post-office salary compensation, including duration and amount, and the requirements and rules to be adhered to by the public office holder during this period. The proposed solutions generally follow the principle that, where the independence of government branches or the legitimate exercise of functions is not compromised, the rights of public office holders should be determined in a manner and to an extent comparable to those of public employees, while taking into account the specific nature of each function.