For most, the process of being appointed to a civil service post is a welcome opportunity and the next step on a rewarding career. However, on occasion, there may be difficulties encountered during the appointment process. What advice should be given to someone who has recently been appointed to a civil service post either by way of promotion or open competition?

First of all, a piece of advice that may not seem immediately important, but which could become important in a future dispute. Always keep the circular.

Sometimes, a situation might arise where there is a difficulty around an issue such as leave, allowances or perhaps even how to revert back to a previous grade in case the promotion doesn’t work out. The first port of call should be to look again at the advertisement or circular under which your competition was held.

Competition circulars, including those from open competitions, interdepartmental competitions and internal competitions, form the rules of a given appointment process. When you encounter an issue, it is, therefore, important to check back to the competition circular to see if the issue was addressed there.

Let’s say, for example, you were hired on a temporary contract. The competition circular might specify how long the probationary period should last. That way, if they try to impose a longer probationary period on you, you’ll be able to point to the circular to show that they can’t impose a new probationary period on you.

There are other examples of issues that have arisen over the years that required consultation with the original competition circular. The difficulty is that most people don’t keep a copy of the competitions circulars, which is a pity as it may hold the key to the answer. My advice – always – ALWAYS – keep a copy of the competition's circular in case you ever need to refer back to it. You never know when it might just dig you out of a hole.

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