The Capital City is in the test phase of an application that will, within its human resources records, also include records of service contracts, with implementation expected in the coming weeks, announced Slađana Anđušić, Secretary for Local Self-Government and Cooperation with Civil Society, speaking on the IA’s #ReForma podcast.
On the topic of local-level employment, personnel records and the challenges of preventing political influence, as well as the upcoming Law on Local Civil Servants and Employees, we spoke with Anđušić in the new episode of IA’s #ReForma podcast.
Commenting on the application of the Law on Local Self-Government in the part relating to the employment of local civil servants and employees, Anđušić highlighted that sixteen provisions referring to the analogous application of the Law on State Civil Servants and Employees create numerous dilemmas in practice. She emphasized that the Capital City has submitted numerous comments and suggestions on the new Law on Local Self-Government, as well as on the draft law on local civil servants and employees, which was initiated precisely to more clearly define employment procedures and employment relations at the local level.
Recording Service Contracts
Explaining the process of conducting public competitions, testing, and candidate evaluations, Anđušić said that the Capital City has special software with over 5000 categorized questions of varying difficulty, randomly assigned to candidates.
“In the past we saw that the system had been compromised, with 12 or 13 people from different departments and services having access to the testing system. We disabled this immediately upon my arrival, and now only one person can change questions, while the head of the Testing Department can structure the test. The process is fully automated and no one can know in advance what the questions will be,” Anđušić said, adding that minutes are kept for every interview conducted with candidates.
As a problem in practice, Anđušić mentioned certificates of volunteer experience that candidates submit as part of their application documentation, noting that this issue should be better defined through legislative amendments.
“Our proposal was that volunteer service be considered relevant for entry-level positions. The Law on Volunteering should also be amended, as the volunteer record book does not include an issue date. We tried to review both the certificate and the record book, but as far as we are concerned, it could have been issued yesterday while listing years of service,” she said, adding that in cases of doubt, requests were sent to the Employment Agency to verify whether the volunteering was officially recorded.
Anđušić announced that the Capital City is in the test phase of a new application that will provide electronic personnel records, which for the first time will also include data on service contracts and sick leave duration.
“What concerned me was that we never had reliable data on sick leave duration, when it recurs, or how many employees are simultaneously on leave… Currently, we have no insight into service contracts, but in a few weeks this system will go live,” she said, adding that the Capital City will be the first local government to develop a human resources management strategy.
She emphasized that the new system does not require duplicate entries, is integrated with the payroll system, and that once entered, data is stored and transferred for all needs.
Inspection Supervision Ongoing Since 2023
When asked whether the legal framework provides sufficiently strong guarantees for preventing improper (political) influence and whether inspection oversight is strong enough in this area, Anđušić stated that since July 2023, the Administrative Inspection has been conducting supervision in the Capital City, and that this oversight is still not complete.
She noted that the oversight has not yet been finalized in two of the largest services — the Protection and Rescue Service and the Capital City’s Common Affairs Service. The inspection review covered the period from 2015 until the start of oversight in July 2023. According to Anđušić, the majority of irregularities involved failures to announce public competitions, positions not included in staffing plans, or candidates who did not have the required work experience.
“We scanned over 20000 pages, which was an enormous task, and later scanned another 4000–5000, constantly responding to inspectors’ requests for additional documentation. This oversight is still ongoing. In cases where we found there were no irregularities, our department heads raised objections and pointed inspectors to the additional documentation we later found,” Anđušić explained.
The full episode of the #ReForma podcast is available at the following link.