CSC Amends Salary Rules to Protect Promotions for Mothers and Sick Leave

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has amended salary promotion policies to ensure that civil servants do not lose career advancement opportunities due to maternity leave or long-term medical absences. These changes address a critical gap in the State Pay Framework that previously penalized employees for taking necessary leave. Under the new amendments to Article 3 of the promotion policy, eligibility for a salary increase is no longer strictly tied to two consecutive years of high performance. Employees are now eligible for promotion if they achieve a performance appraisal score of 85 marks or higher in any two years, even if there is a break between those periods. This shift ensures that women on maternity leave and staff recovering from illness can maintain their professional trajectory. This latest update follows a similar move by the CSC in January, which protected employees facing administrative delays. Under those rules, staff eligible for promotions who are delayed by bureaucratic processes will still receive their salary increases retroactively once the promotion is officially granted. In a separate administrative update, the CSC has introduced flexibility for small-population island councils struggling with staffing shortages. Councils can now recruit employees from other islands within the same atoll, provided the position is part of the council's approved structure and funding is secured. To balance operational needs with employee wellbeing, these staff members may be permitted to report to or work from their home island's council office. However, they must reside within the atoll where the employing council is located. All recruitment, dismissal, and promotion processes for these roles will continue to be governed by the Civil Service Act and established CSC regulations, with salaries adhering to the State Pay Framework.