“Proposal to Allow Civil Servants to Contribute Capital, Establish, and Operate Private Enterprises”

The Ministry of Home Affairs is seeking feedback on the draft Law on Official Staff (amended), expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration at the 10th Session (in October).

According to the drafting agency, the Law on Official Staff (amended) is being developed to realize the Politburo’s guidelines on developing public non-business units and address any difficulties and bottlenecks in the implementation process.

One notable aspect of the draft Law is the innovation in the recruitment, employment, and management of official staff, as well as the rights and obligations of official staff in public non-business units.

Specifically, the draft Law focuses on perfecting the human resource management mechanism by putting laborers at the center, creating flexibility in the use of public and private human resources, and establishing a mechanism to attract high-quality human resources. It also aims to reduce administrative procedures and overcome limitations and shortcomings in current laws while meeting the demands of national governance reform and building a professional, responsible, dynamic, and people-serving official staff team.

The Ministry of Home Affairs aims to expand the rights of official staff. Accordingly, official staff can sign work contracts with other agencies, organizations, or units that are not prohibited by law, provided they complete assigned tasks and obtain the consent of the head of the public non-business unit.

Official staff are allowed to contribute capital, participate in the establishment, management, and operation, or work in enterprises established by the non-business unit they are working for, or co-founded by that unit, to commercialize research results and efficiently exploit intellectual property, inventions, and digital technologies created by the organization.

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Official staff can be seconded to work at scientific and technological organizations, universities, businesses, and other organizations for a certain period. They are allowed to contribute capital, establish, manage, or participate in technology development in domestic and foreign enterprises in accordance with the law.

“, the draft Law states.

The drafting agency notes that in the case of official staff who are heads of units, the consent of the direct managing authority is required. During their time working in these organizations, official staff will retain their salary and other policies and will be considered for planning, appointment, training, and fostering in accordance with regulations.

Salary Based on Position and Output Results

Another noteworthy proposal by the Ministry of Home Affairs is to continue promoting the management of official staff and salary payments based on position and output results.

Accordingly, it is clear that the recruitment, management, evaluation, arrangement, and employment of official staff must be based on the requirements of the position and the capacity, results, and efficiency of the official staff in performing their tasks, moving towards abolishing the regulation on salary ranking associated with the consideration of promotion in the professional rank of official staff.

At the same time, there are expanded provisions on contract signing and acceptance to facilitate the transition between the private and public sectors and vice versa, according to job requirements and actual capacity in an environment of “competition,” openness, transparency, and equality.

In parallel, innovations in the recruitment of official staff aim to build a team management mechanism by clearly distinguishing between areas providing essential and non-essential public services.

The amended Law on Official Staff diversifies recruitment methods by adding direct contracting for experts, scientists, and talented individuals suitable for the field of activity of the public non-business unit, in addition to the traditional methods of competitive examination and selection.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, this diversification of recruitment methods will facilitate the proactive recruitment of official staff by public non-business units, moving towards a professional and modern management model.

The amended Law on Official Staff stipulates recruitment methods for units providing essential public services and those not providing essential public services, with the latter moving towards contract-based recruitment.

Additionally, the amended Law specifies the conditions for registration and participation in the recruitment process for individuals with Vietnamese nationality living abroad or foreign nationals living in Vietnam, in accordance with the decisions of the competent authority.

The Law also gives priority to the recruitment of talented individuals, individuals with achievements and contributions to the nation, and ethnic minorities. It promotes the application of science and technology in the recruitment process and integrates data on official staff management in each sector and field.

There is a change in the internship regime (successful candidates for official staff positions must undergo an internship, except in cases where they have at least 12 months of professional experience suitable for the job requirements).