THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the February 26, 1998 Ordinance on Officials and Public Employees and the April 29, 2003 Ordinance amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Ordinance on Officials and Public Employees;

At the proposal of the Minister of Home Affairs,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Scope of regulation

This Decree prescribes the recruitment, employment and management of officials and public employees in the State agencies, armed forces, political organizations or socio-political organizations (hereinafter referred collectively to as public employees).

Article 2.- Subjects of regulation

Public employees referred to in this Decree are Vietnamese citizens who are on the payroll and enjoy salaries from the State budget as prescribed at Points b, c and f, Clause 1, Article 1 of the Ordinance on Officials and Public Employees, work in the following State agencies, armed forces, political organizations or socio-political organizations:

1. The National Assembly's Office;

2. The State President's Office;

3. The State administrative agencies at the central, provincial and district levels;

4. The People's Courts and the People's Procuracies at all levels;

5. The foreign-based diplomatic representation missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

6. Units of the People's Army and the People's Police;

7. The assisting apparatuses of political organizations or socio-political organizations at the central, provincial and district levels.

Article 3.- Interpretation of terms

In this Decree, the following words and phrases are construed as follows:

1. "Public employee's rank" means the public employee's title classified by branch, expressing his/her professional level;

2. "Grade" is the term indicating the value scale in each public employee's rank; corresponding to a grade is a salary co-efficient;

3. "Rank promotion" means raising from a rank to a higher one in the same professional branch;

4. "Rank shift" is the shift from one rank to another of the same professional level (equivalent rank);

5. "Recruitment" means recruiting of persons to work on the payroll of a State agency through recruitment examination or recruitment consideration;

6. "Rank appointment" means decision to appoint a qualified person to a certain public employee's rank.

7. "Public employee-employing agency" means an agency or organization competent to administratively and professionally manage public employees;

8. "Agency competent to manage public employees" means an agency vested with the competence to manage specialized public employees' ranks;

9. "Agency competent to manage public employees' ranks" means an agency vested with the competence to manage specialized public employees' ranks;

10. "Probation" means the case where a recruit practices to work with the responsibilities and tasks of the rank which he/she will be appointed to;

Article 4.- Classification of public employees

Public employees referred to in this Decree are classified as follows:

1. Classification by training level:

a/ Class-A public employees are those who are appointed to the ranks that require university or post-graduate education degrees;

b/ Class-B public employees are those who are appointed to the ranks that require vocational education degrees;

c/ Class-C public employees are those who are appointed to the ranks that require below-vocational education degrees.

2. Classification by public employee's rank:

a/ Public employees of senior-specialist, equivalent or higher rank;

b/ Public employees of principal- specialist or equivalent rank;

c/ Public employees of specialist or equivalent rank;

d/ Public employees of junior-staff member or equivalent rank;

e/ Public employees of personnel or equivalent rank.

3. Classification by working position:

a/ Leading or commanding public employees;

b/ Professional public employees.

The decentralization of the management of public employees must be based on the classification of public employees as defined in this Article.

Chapter II

RECRUITMENT OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

Article 5.- Conditions for registration for participation in recruitment of public employees

1. Registrants for recruitment of public employees must satisfy the following conditions:

a/ Being Vietnamese citizens, having permanent residence addresses in Vietnam;

b/ Being aged between full 18 years and 40 years. If the recruitment participants are army officers, professional army men or servants in the non-business units or State enterprises, their age may be higher but not exceed 45 years;

c/ Having recruitment applications; clear personal records; diplomas and/or training certificates as required by the recruitment ranks they apply for;

d/ Being physically fit to perform tasks and public duties;

e/ Not being in the period of penal liability examination, serving imprisonment sentences, non-custody reform or probation penalties; being subject to the measure of commune/ward/township-based education or consignment to medical treatment establishments or reformatories.

2. The persons recruited as public employees as prescribed at Point b and Point c, Clause 1, Article 1 of the April 29, 2003 Ordinance amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Ordinance on Officials and Public Employees must undergo the reserve public employee regime.

3 .Apart from the provisions in Article 1 of this Article, on the basis of the nature and professional characteristics of the recruitment ranks, the agencies competent to recruit may set more conditions for recruitment participants.

Article 6.- Recruitment of public employees

1. The recruitment of public employees must be conducted through recruitment examinations.

2. Persons who have worked for five or more years in highland, deep-lying, remote border or island areas either voluntarily or in order to meet the requirement of building the contingent of officials and public employees in ethnic minority areas may be recruited through recruitment consideration.

Article 7.- Priorities in recruitment examinations

The following cases shall be prioritized in the recruitment examinations:

1. Armed Forces Heroes, Labor Heroes and war invalids shall have 30 points added to their aggregate examination results;

2. Children of war martyrs, children of war invalids, children of diseased soldiers and holders of doctorates in the training majors suitable to the recruitment demands shall have 20 points added to their aggregate examination results;

3. Holders of master's degrees in the training majors suitable to the recruitment demands; good or excellent graduates of professional training levels suitable to the recruitment demands; persons who have accomplished their military service obligations, voluntary youth members, young intellectuals who have voluntarily worked in rural or mountainous areas for two or more years and accomplished their tasks shall have 10 points added to their aggregate examination results.

Article 8.- Priorities in recruitment consideration

Persons who voluntarily pledge to work for five or more years in highland, deep-lying, remote, mountainous, border or island areas shall be considered for recruitment in the following priority order:

1. Ethnic minority people, people who reside in the places where they voluntarily come to work;

2. Armed Forces Heroes, Labor Heroes;

3. War invalids;

4. Children of war martyrs;

5. Children of war invalids or diseased solders;

6. Holders of doctorates in the training majors suitable to the recruitment demands;

7. Holders of master's degrees in the training majors suitable to the recruitment demands; good or excellent graduates of professional training levels suitable to the recruitment demands; persons who have accomplished their military service obligations, voluntary youth members, young intellectuals who have worked voluntarily in rural or mountainous areas for two or more years and accomplished their tasks.

Article 9.- Recruitment grounds

The recruitment of public employees must be based on the work demands, working positions and the assigned payroll quotas.

Article 10.- Recruitment notices

At least 30 days before the date of organizing recruitments, the agencies competent to manage public employees must publicly announce the recruitment criteria, conditions and number of persons to be recruited on the mass media for people to know and register for recruitment.

Article 11.- Recruitment Councils

1. The recruitment of public employees shall be conducted by the Recruitment Examination Councils in case of recruitment examination, or by the Recruitment Consideration Councils in case of recruitment consideration (hereinafter referred collectively to as Recruitment Councils). Where the number of recruitment registrants is much higher than the to be-recruited number, the Recruitment Councils may organize preliminary selections.

2. The Recruitment Councils shall be set up by decisions of the heads of the agencies competent to manage public employees and consist of 5 or 7 members each.

3. A Recruitment Council consists of:

a/ The Council chairman, who is the head or deputy head of the agency competent to manage public employees;

b/ The Council vice-chairman, who is the head of the organization and personnel section of the agency competent to manage public employees;

c/ Council members, who are representatives of the leaderships of the specialized agencies, organizations and/or units of the agency competent to manage public employees;

d/ A Council member-cum-secretary, who is a public employee in charge of the recruitment work.

4. The Recruitment Council shall be assisted by an Examination Superintendence Board and an Examination Paper-Marking Board.

Article 12.- Tasks and powers of Recruitment Councils

The Recruitment Councils shall work on the principles of collectivism and vote by majority, having the following tasks and powers:

1. To publicly announce the recruitment plan; recruitment regulations and rules; qualifications and conditions for recruitment participation; examination subjects, form, time and venues;

2. To organize the compilation of exam questions; to set up the Examination Superintendence Board and the Examination Paper-Marking Board;

3. To receive and consider dossiers of participation in recruitment; to organize preliminary selections (if any); to announce the list of persons who satisfy the conditions and qualifications for participation in recruitment;

4. To organize the recruitment examination or recruitment consideration strictly according to regulations; to report on the recruitment results to the competent bodies for consideration and issuance of decisions to recognize such results; to publicly announce the recruitment results;

5. To settle complaints and denunciations of recruitment participants.

Article 13.- Method of marking in recruitment examinations

1. Each examination subject shall be marked on a 100-point scale.

2. To pass recruitment examinations, examinees must sit all examinations and get at least 50 points for each and be in between the person with the highest aggregate of points and the last person of the to be-recruited quota.

3. The persons enjoying recruitment priorities prescribed in Article 7 of this Decree shall have priority points added to the aggregates of their examination points; if an examinee falls into many priority subjects, he/she shall only have the highest number of priority points added.

4. Where many persons get the same aggregate points for the last quota to be recruited, the Recruitment Examination Council shall decide to organize another examination to recruit the person with the highest mark.

Article 14.- Principles for determination of successful candidates in recruitment considerations

The successful candidates in a recruitment consideration are those who meet the criteria and conditions for participation in recruitment, are considered and unanimously agreed by the Recruitment Consideration Councils on the basis of the provisions in Articles 5 and 8 of this Decree to propose the competent bodies to issue decisions to recruit them.

Article 15.- Time limits for issuance of recruitment and acceptance decisions

1. Within 30 days after the date of announcement of the recruitment results, the agencies competent to manage public employees shall issue recruitment decisions.

2. Within 30 days after the date of issuance of the recruitment decisions, the recruits must come to the agencies to take on their jobs, except where the recruitment decisions set a different time limit.

3. Where the recruits cannot take on their jobs within the time limit for plausible reasons, they must make written requests for extension of such time limit, which must be approved by the public employee-employing agencies. The extended duration shall not exceed 30 days.

4. Where the persons having the recruitment decisions come to take on their jobs late without plausible reasons, the agencies competent to manage public employees shall issue decisions canceling the recruitment decisions.

Article 16.- Probation

1. The persons who are recruited to work as public employees under the provisions of this Decree must undergo the probationary regime.

2. The probationary duration for different public employee's ranks is prescribed as follows:

a/ Twelve months for the specialist or equivalent rank;

b/ Six months for the junior staff-member or equivalent rank;

c/ Three months for the personnel or equivalent rank.

3. The probationary duration required for reserve public employees shall be counted into the period of undergoing the reserve public employee regime.

4. Those who are working at State enterprises or who are prescribed at Points a, d, e, g and h, Clause 1, Article 1 of the Ordinance on Officials and Public Employees, when they are transferred or recruited to work at the State agencies prescribed in Article 2 of this Decree, shall implement the probationary regime under the guidance of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Article 17.- Probation supervision

The public employee-employing agencies shall have the responsibility:

1. To guide the probationers to firmly grasp the functions, tasks, internal regulations and rules of the agencies, the relationships among the sections of the agencies and with the concerned agencies, and to practice the responsibilities and tasks of the ranks which they will be appointed to;

2. To appoint a public employee of the same or higher rank, who is professionally capable and experienced to supervise the probationers. Each public employee shall only supervise one probationers at a time.

Article 18.- Regimes and policies towards probationers and their supervisors

The probationers and their supervisors shall enjoy the following regimes and policies:

1. During the apprenticeship duration, the probationers shall enjoy 85% of the starting salary of grade 1 of the recruitment rank; where the probationers hold a master's degree suitable to the recruitment demand, they shall enjoy 85% of the salary of grade 2 of the recruitment rank; where the probationers hold a doctorate suitable to the recruitment demand, they shall enjoy 85% of the salary of grade 3 of the recruitment rank.

2. In the probationary duration, the following persons shall enjoy 100% of the salary and allowance (if any) of the recruitment rank:

a/ Recruits to work in highland, deep-lying, remote, border or island areas;

b/ Recruits to do hazardous or dangerous occupations or jobs;

c/ Recruits who have accomplished their military service obligations, are youth volunteer members, young intellectuals who have worked voluntarily in rural or mountainous areas for two or more years and fulfilled their tasks.

3. Public employees who are assigned by their agencies to supervise apprentices shall enjoy a responsibility allowance of 30% of the minimum salary during the time they supervise the apprentices.

4. The probationary duration shall not be counted into the time for salary rise according to seniority.

Article 19.- Appointment to public employee's ranks

1. The appointment to public employee's ranks shall be effected under decisions issued by the competent bodies on the following principles:

a/ A person shall be appointed to the public employee's rank corresponding to the job he/she is expected to do;

b/ The appointees must satisfy all the criteria required by the rank.

2. Rank appointment for probationers:

a/ At the end of the probationary duration, the probationers shall have to make reports on their probation results; the probation supervisors shall have to give written remarks, evaluating the probation results and send them to the public employee-employing agencies;

b/ The heads of the public employee-employing agencies shall evaluate the moral qualities and working results of the probationers; then propose the agencies competent to manage public employees to issue decisions to appoint those probationers who satisfy the requirements of the ranks which they have practiced to such public employees' ranks.

Article 20.- Cancellation of recruitment decisions

1. Recruitment decisions shall be canceled in the following cases:

a/ The apprentices fail to accomplish their tasks;

b/ The apprentices are disciplined in the form of caution or more severe penalties.

2. The heads of the public employee-employing agencies shall propose the agencies competent to manage public employees to issue written decisions canceling the recruitment decisions in the cases prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. The apprentices whose recruitment decisions are canceled shall be provided by the public employee-employing agencies one month's salary and allowance (if any) they are enjoying and a travel fare back to their residence places.

Chapter III

EMPLOYMENT OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

Section 1. ARRANGEMENT, ASSIGNMENT OF JOBS, RANK SHIFT, RANK PROMOTION

Article 21.- Arrangement, assignment of jobs

1. The heads of the public employee-employing agencies shall have to arrange, assign jobs to public employees, ensure the necessary conditions for them to perform their tasks, and implement the regimes and policies for them.

2. The arrangement, assignment of jobs to public employees must ensure the compatibility of the assigned tasks with the appointed public employee's ranks; public employees in a certain rank must be arranged jobs suitable to such rank.

3. Public employees shall be responsible before law for the performance of their tasks and official duties; public employees holding leading posts must be also responsible for the performance of tasks and official duties by their subordinates according to law provisions.

Article 22.- Rank shift

1. Public employees who are assigned new tasks which are not suitable to their current ranks shall have to shift to other ranks suitable to their newly assigned positions and professional tasks.

2. Public employees subject to rank shift must satisfy the professional criteria of the ranks they shift to and fit in with the public employee's rank structures of their agencies.

3. The public employee-employing agencies, when shifting public employees to other ranks, must set up an Examination Council to test the professional qualifications and capabilities of such public employees. If the public employees satisfy all the professional criteria of new ranks, the public employee-employing agencies shall issue appointment decisions according to their competence or propose the agencies competent to manage public employees to appoint.

4. An Examination Council consists of 5 or 7 members, including:

a/ The Council chairman, who is the head or deputy head of the agency;

b/ The Council vice-chairman, who is the head of the organization and personnel section of the agency;

c/ Council members, who are leaders of the professional sections, a number of professionally capable public employees of the same or higher rank (the council chairman shall assign one of these members as secretary).

5. The Examination Councils have the following tasks:

a/ To examine diplomas and training certificates as required for the new ranks, the former agency's written evaluation of the previous working process;

b/ To interview the public employees subject to rank shift on political, social and professional issues;

c/ To test the public employees subject to rank shift on the skill of drafting managerial documents as required by the new rank's tasks;

d/ The Councils meet to evaluate the results; if seeing that the public employees are qualified, to propose the agency competent to manage public employees to appoint them to new ranks.

6. Rank shift must not be combined with rank promotion or salary rise.

Article 23.- Rank promotion, salary rise

1. Public employees who meet all criteria and conditions and have their working positions suitable to the ranks while there still exist higher ranks in the same professional branch may be promoted to the higher ranks. The rank promotion for public employees must be effected through rank promotion examinations as prescribed. Public employees who record outstanding achievements in performing their tasks and official duties shall be considered for rank promotion.

2. Public employees who meet all criteria, have passed the required period of time while there exist higher salary grades in their rank shall be considered for salary rise. Public employees who record outstanding achievements in performing their tasks and official duties shall be considered for salary rise ahead of time according to the Government's regulations.

3. In the course of performing their tasks and official duties, if the public employees achieve high working efficiency and show development prospects, the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies or Government-attached agencies or the presidents of the provincial/municipal People's Committees shall issue decisions to promote them to higher ranks or raise their salaries ahead of time according to their respective decentralized responsibility.

The Minister of Home Affairs shall provide guidance on the rank promotion and salary rise ahead of time as prescribed in this Article.

Article 24.- Nomination of public employees to sit rank promotion examinations

1. The consideration and nomination of public employees to sit rank promotion examinations shall be considered by the Preliminary Selection Councils of their agencies on the basis of the demands of the public employee's ranks, the working positions, ethical quality, professional qualifications, development prospects as well as the task performance results of the public employees. The composition of a Preliminary Selection Council shall be similar to that of the Examination Council set up in case of rank shift as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 22 of this Decree.

2. Public employees sitting rank promotion examinations must satisfy the professional criteria of the ranks for which they are examined, possess all diplomas and training certificates as required, have the minimum salary co-efficient as prescribed for the ranks for which they are examined, and meet other necessary conditions as prescribed, and at the same time be nominated by the agencies competent to manage public employees to sit the examinations.

Article 25.- Organization of rank promotion examinations

Annually, the agencies competent to manage public employees shall base themselves on the public employee's rank structure to work out rank promotion plans and rank promotion examination criteria and send them to the Ministry of Home Affairs for agreement thereon.

Article 26.- Rank Promotion Examination Councils

1. When organizing rank promotion examinations, the agencies competent to do so must set up the Rank Promotion Examination Councils, each consisting of 5 or 7 members, including:

a/ The Council chairman, who is the head or deputy head of the agency competent to organize the rank promotion examination;

b/ The Council vice-chairman, who is in charge of managing officials and public employees of the agency assigned to organize the rank promotion examination;

c/ Council members, who are representatives of the leaderships of the specialized units of the agency assigned to organize the rank promotion examination;

d/ A Council member-cum-secretary, who is in charge of the recruitment and rank promotion of the agency assigned to organize the rank promotion examination.

2. The Rank Promotion Council shall be assisted by an Examination Superintendence Board and an Examination Paper-Marking Board.

Article 27.- Tasks and powers of Rank Promotion Examination Councils

The Rank Promotion Examination Councils shall work on the principles of collectivism and vote by majority, having the following tasks and powers:

1. To publicly announce the rank promotion examination plan; examination regulations and rules; criteria and conditions for sitting the examination; examinee's dossiers; examination subjects, form, time and venues;

2. To organize the compilation of exam questions; to set up the Examination Superintendence Boards and the Examination Paper-Marking Boards;

3. To receive and consider dossiers of application for sitting the examinations; to announce the list of persons who satisfy the conditions and criteria for sitting the examinations;

4. To direct and organize the examinations strictly according to regulations; to report on the examination results to the competent bodies for consideration and decision on recognition thereof;

5. To settle complaints and denunciations of examinees.

Article 28.- Method of marking and determination of successful examinees

1. Each examination subject shall be marked on a 100-point scale.

2. To pass the examinations, examinees must take up all examination subjects and get at least 55 points for each.

Article 29.- Rank certification and appointment to public employee's ranks

1. On the basis of the examination results, within 30 days after the examination results are available, the agencies competent to manage public employee's ranks shall grant the rank certificates to the public employees who have passed the examinations.

2. On the basis of the rank certificates, the agencies competent to manage public employees shall issue rank promotion decisions and grade the public employees' salaries according to the ranks for which they have been examined according to regulations.

Section 2. TRAINING AND FOSTERING

Article 30.- Training and fostering of public employees

1. The agencies competent to manage public employees shall have to formulate training plannings and plans and organize the training and fostering in order to create sources of public employees and raise their qualifications and capabilities.

2. The public employee-employing agencies shall have to create conditions for public employees to have training and fostering in order to raise their qualifications according to the criteria of professional titles of the public employee's ranks and according to the training and fostering plans.

Section 3. TRANSFER, APPOINTMENT TO LEADING POSTS, RESIGNATION, RELIEF FROM DUTY, ROTATION, SECONDING

Article 31.- Transfer

1. The transfer of public employees must be based on the work demands of the agencies as well as the qualifications and capabilities of public employees.

2. When transferring public employees to working positions involving different professional operations, the agencies employing and managing them must propose competent authorities to decide to shift the public employees to the corresponding ranks as appropriate.

3. If any officials or employees falling into the subjects specified at Points a, d, e and g, Clause 1, Article 1 of the April 29, 2003 Ordinance amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Ordinance on Officials and Public Employees are transferred by competent agencies to work at State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations or armed forces, their appointment to public employee's ranks must be based on the working positions and professional criteria of such ranks. The order and procedures of rank appointment shall be the same as those applicable to rank shift prescribed in Article 22 of this Decree.

Article 32.- Appointment to leading posts

1. The appointment of public employees to leading posts shall be based on the requirements and tasks of the agencies, criteria and conditions of the leading positions, and according to the competence, order and procedures prescribed for the appointment of leading officials or public employees.

2. Public employees shall be appointed to leading posts for a definite term, at the end of the post-holding term, they must be considered for re-appointment or non-re-appointment.

3. If public employees are arranged to other jobs or appointed to new posts, they shall be automatically cease to hold their incumbent posts.

Article 33.- Relief from leading posts

Public employees holding leading posts shall be considered by competent authorities for relief from duty and arrangement to other jobs before their appointment terms expire in the following cases:

1. Due to work demands;

2. Due to their poor health;

3. Due to failure to fulfill their tasks;

4. Due to violations of disciplines, which are not serious enough to be disciplined in the form of demotion.

Article 34.- Resignation

1. If public employees holding leading posts wish to resign, they must give in their resignations to the heads of their employing agencies. The heads of their employing agencies shall report on their resignations to the agencies competent to manage public employees for consideration and decision.

2. Within one month after receiving the resignations, the agencies competent to manage public employees must consider and make decisions thereon or report such to competent authorities for decision.

3. Pending the acceptance of their resignations, the public employees holding leading posts must still discharge their assigned tasks and powers.

4. After public employees resign and cease to hold leading posts, they shall be arranged to other jobs.

Article 35.- Rotation

1. The rotation of public employees shall be applied in the following cases:

a/ Reinforcing or supplementing the contingent of officials and public employees quantitatively and qualitatively for State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations or non-business units in order to ensure the fulfillment of their assigned tasks;

b/ Rotating officials and public employees between the local and central levels and among different agencies, branches or domains according to plannings.

2. When officials or public employees holding leading or managerial posts and falling into the subjects specified at Points a, d, e and g, Clause 1, Article 1 of the April 29, 2003 Ordinance amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Ordinance on Officials and Public Employees are rotated under decisions of competent bodies to hold leading posts in State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations or armed forces, their appointment to public employee's ranks must be based on the working positions and professional criteria of such ranks. The order and procedures of rank appointment shall be the same as those applicable to rank shift prescribed in Article 22 of this Decree.

3. Public employees who are rotated to work in highland, deep-lying, remote, border or island areas shall enjoy, in addition to preferential policies, a number of other incentive policies according to the State's general regulations.

Article 36.- Seconding

1. Basing themselves on the requirements of tasks and official duties, the agencies competent to manage public employees may second public employees to work for a definite term in other agencies, organizations or units. The seconding period shall not exceed three years at a time.

2. The seconding of public employees shall be effected in the following cases:

a/ Due to the emergence of unexpected or urgent tasks while the transfer of public employees cannot be effected.

b/ Due to the fact that some work needs to be settled only in a certain period of time.

3. The seconded public employees shall place themselves under the work assignment of the agencies, organizations or units where they are seconded to. The seconding agencies shall have to pay salaries to and ensure other interests for the seconded public employees.

4. The public employees seconded to highland, deep-lying, remote, border or island areas shall enjoy the preferential policies according to the State's general regulations.

Section 4. EVALUATION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

Article 37.- Purposes

Evaluation of public employees aims to accurately assess their capabilities, qualifications, working results and moral qualities, serving as a basis for arranging, employing, promoting, training, fostering, and implementing policies towards, public employees

Article 38.- Grounds for and order of evaluation of public employees

1. When evaluating public employees, their agencies must base themselves on the public employees' assigned tasks, task performance results and ethical qualities.

2. The evaluation of public employees shall be organized at the end of each year in the following order: public employees self-remark on their work; collectives where they work give comments and write on grading papers; after consulting the comments and grading of the collectives, the heads of the agencies evaluate and decide on the grading of public employees; evaluation opinions are notified to each public employee.

3. Public employees have the right to present and reserve their self-remarks but must abide by the conclusion opinions of competent bodies.

4. The evaluation of seconded public employees shall be made by the agencies employing such public employees. Written evaluations of the seconded public employees shall be forwarded to the seconding agencies for filing into the public employees' files.

5. Public employees' evaluation documents shall be preserved in their files.

Article 39.- Evaluation of leading public employees

The evaluation of public employees holding leading posts shall be made according to the management decentralization. Apart from the grounds stated in Article 38 of this Decree, the evaluation of leading public employees must be also based on the operation results of the agencies or units and the responsibilities of the leading public employees.

Chapter IV

MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES

Article 40.- Contents of management of public employees

1. Promulgating, and organizing the implementation of, legal documents, charters and regulations on decentralization of the management of public employees.

2. Formulating plannings and plans on the building, training and fostering of the contingent of public employees.

3. Prescribing the titles and criteria of public employees.

4. Prescribing the payrolls of public employees in State administrative agencies at the central level; prescribing the administrative payroll limits for the People's Committees.

5. Organizing the management, employment, training and fostering of public employees.

6. Promulgating regulations on recruitment, rank promotion; the probationary regime.

7. Evaluating public employees.

8. Directing, organizing the implementation of the salary regime and entitlement, commendation and disciplining regimes and policies for public employees.

9. Implementing the regime of reporting and statistics on public employees.

10. Inspecting and examining the implementation of law provisions on public employees.

11. Directing, organizing the settlement of complaints and denunciations related to public employees.

Article 41.- Tasks and powers of the Ministry of Home Affairs

The Ministry of Home Affairs is a governmental agency performing the function of State management over public employees and having the following tasks and powers:

1. To draft bills and ordinances on public employees for the Government to submit them to the National Assembly or the National Assembly Standing Committee;

2. To formulate and submit to the Government for approval: plannings and plans on the building of the contingent of public employees; schemes on assignment and decentralization of the management of public employees and total State administrative payrolls; plans on training and fostering of the contingent of public employees; the regime of salaries and other entitlement policies and regimes for public employees; the reserve public employee regime; the probationary regime, and regulatory documents on the management of public employees;

3. To formulate and submit to the Government the schemes on the employment, evaluation, transfer, appointment, re-appointment, rotation, commendation and disciplining of public employees and the public employee's rank structures in State administrative agencies;

4. To formulate and submit to the Government for prescription the administrative payroll quotas of the provincial/municipal People's Committees;

5. To decide on the allocation of administrative payroll limits to the ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies according to the authorization of the Prime Minister;

6. To promulgate regulations on the titles and professional criteria for public employee's ranks; promulgating a regulation on recruitment and a regulation on rank promotion for public employees;

7. To quantitatively and qualitatively manage, to effect rank appointment, salary grading and raising for, the public employees of high ranks; organize examinations for promotion to the senior-specialist and principal specialist ranks for public employees; examine and supervise recruitment and rank promotion examinations organized by the ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies or provincial/municipal People's Committees; grant certificates of the senior-specialist ranks and specialized public employee's rank equivalent to the senior-specialist rank;

8. To provide for the compilation and management of public employees' files; numerical signs of public employees; public employee's papers; public employee's cards and regulations on the wearing thereof;

9. To organize the collection of statistics on the contingent of public employees nationwide;

10. To inspect, examine the implementation of the State's regulations on public employees in the State administrative agencies at the central and local levels;

11. To settle complaints and denunciations related to public employees according to its decentralized responsibility and law provisions on complaints and denunciations.

Article 42.- Tasks and powers of the ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies

The ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies (hereinafter referred to as ministries for short) have the following tasks and powers:

1. To quantitatively and qualitatively manage, recruit, employ, appoint, transfer, rotate, evaluate, evaluate, grade salaries and raise salaries for, public employees of the principal-specialist, equivalent and lower ranks;

2. To organize the recruitment, training and fostering of public employees under their direct management;

3. To organize the recruitment, management and employment of reserve public employees according to law provisions;

4. To assign the payroll quotas to State administrative agencies under their direct management;

5. To discharge the tasks and powers of ministries managing specialized public employee's ranks under the provisions in Article 44 of this Decree regarding the specialized public employee's ranks under their management;

6. To organize rank promotion examinations for public employee' ranks equivalent to or lower than the specialist rank according to regulations;

7. To organize the implementation of the salary regime and other entitlement regimes and policies for their public employees;

8. To commend and discipline public employees or propose competent authorities to commend and/or discipline them according to regulations;

9. To organize the statistical collection and reports on public employees according to regulations;

10. To guide, inspect and examine the enforcement of the State's regulations on public employees under the management of the ministries or branches;

11. To settle complaints and denunciations related to public employees according to their decentralized responsibilities and law provisions on complaints and denunciations.

Article 43.- Assignment of agencies to manage specialized public employee's ranks

The following ministries and ministerial-level agencies are assigned to manage specialized public employee's ranks:

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs shall manage the specialized public employee's ranks in the administrative and cipher branches;

2. The Ministry of Finance shall manage the specialized public employee's ranks in the accounting, tax, audit, customs and reserve branches;

3. The State Bank of Vietnam shall manage the specialized public employee's ranks in the in the banking branch;

4. The State Inspectorate shall manage the specialized public employee's ranks in the inspection branch;

5. The Ministry of Justice shall manage the specialized public employee's ranks in the justice branch;

6. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall manage the public employee's ranks in the agriculture, forestry and irrigation branches;

7. The Ministry of Post and Telematics shall manage the specialized public employee's ranks in the post and telematics branch.

Article 44.- Tasks and powers of the ministries managing specialized public employee's ranks

The ministries and ministerial-level agencies managing specialized public employee's ranks have the following tasks and powers:

1. To formulate the professional criteria for specialized public employee's ranks for the Ministry of Home Affairs to promulgate them uniformly;

2. To prescribe the contents of recruitment and rank promotion examinations for specialized public employee's ranks;

3. To work out regimes and policies for specialized public employees for the Ministry of Home Affairs to submit them to the Government;

4. To prescribe the contents, programs and modes of, and organize, the training and fostering of public employees of specialized public employee's ranks;

5. To organize rank promotion examinations and grant rank certificates for the specialized public employee's rans equivalent to the principal-specialist rank assigned to them for management;

6. To coordinate with the Ministry of Home Affairs in organizing rank promotion examinations for the specialized public employee's rank equivalent to the senior-specialist rank assigned to them for management.

Article 45.- Tasks and powers of the People's Committees of the provinces and centrally run cities:

The People's Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities (hereinafter referred to as the provincial-level People's Committees for short) have the following tasks and powers:

1. To quantitatively and qualitatively manage, recruit, employ, appoint, transfer, rotate, evaluate, evaluate, grade salaries and raise salaries for, public employees of the principal-specialist, equivalent and lower ranks;

2. To prescribe the payroll quotas for the administrative agencies of the provincial-level People's Committees

3. To organize the recruitment, training and fostering of public employees according to regulations;

4. To organize the recruitment, employment and management of reserve public employees according to regulations;

5. To organize rank promotion examinations for the junior-staff member, specialist and other equivalent ranks according to regulations;

6. To organize the implementation of the salary regime and other entitlement regimes and policies for their public employees;

7. To commend and discipline public employees according to their competence or propose competent authorities to commend and/or discipline them according to regulations;

8. To organize the statistical collection and reports on public employees according to regulations;

9. To inspect and examine the enforcement of the State's regulations on public employees at the administrative agencies under the provincial-level People's Committees;

10. To settle complaints and denunciations related to public employees according to law provisions on complaints and denunciations.

Article 46.- Tasks and powers of public employee-employing agencies

The public employee-employing agencies have the following tasks and powers:

1. To organize the implementation of the State's regimes and policies for public employees;

2. To arrange, assign tasks to public employees and examine their task performance;

3. To propose to the agencies competent to manage public employees the requirements regarding the recruitment, appointment, rank promotion, rank shift, transfer, seconding, training and fostering of public employees;

4. To evaluate public employees they employ according to regulations;

5. To arrange, assign tasks to, guide, comment and evaluate, reserve public employees;

6. To commend, reward, discipline public employees according to their respective competence or propose competent authorities to commend, reward or discipline them according to regulations;

7. To guide statistics and report on the situation of public employees under their respective management to the superior agencies managing public employees according to regulations;

8. To settle complaints and denunciations related to public employees in their agencies.

Article 47.- Management of public employee's files

The public employee-employing agencies shall have to compile and keep personal files of public employees. All developments in the working process of public employees from the time they are recruited, appointed to the time they give up their jobs must all be recorded in their files.

The compilation, management and preservation of public employee's files shall be effected according to the decentralized management.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 48.- Implementation effect

1. This Decree takes implementation effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette and replaces the Government's Decree No. 95/1998/ND-CP of November 17, 1998 on recruitment, employment and management of public employees and Decree No. 56/2000/ND-CP of October 12, 2000 amending Clause 2, Article 6 of the Government's Decree No. 95/1998/ND-CP of November 17, 1998 on recruitment, employment and management of public employees.

Article 49.- Responsibility for implementation guidance

1. The Minister of Home Affairs shall have the responsibility to guide the implementation of this Decree.

2. The competent bodies of political organizations shall base themselves on the provisions of this Decree to guide the application thereof to the bodies of political organizations and socio-political organizations.

Article 50.- Implementation responsibility

The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the Government-attached agencies and the presidents of the provincial/municipal People's Committees shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI