HSSD came under fire by the Jersey Appointments Commission (JAC) – the body responsible for ensuring a “fair” recruitment process for States roles – after it was revealed that there had been no independent oversight on as many as eight senior posts with salaries of £100,000 and over.
Following the revelations, the Commission called for a retrospective review of the recruitment process for all senior roles, many of which were settled by a procurement process, but later described the contents of the files pertaining to the process as “inadequate” while also raising concerns over the length of time taken to produce them upon request.
Penned by Dame Janet Paraskeva DBE, the report also hinted at nepotism, claiming that there was “particular continuing concern” over the employment of close family members as interns without giving others the opportunity to apply.
“Appointments in the public sector are normally subject to open competition process. Any internship for a significant period, such as a 12 month period, should have been subject to open competition as well. In this case it was not,” a JAC spokesperson told Express.
“There will be ‘continuing concern’ until the States’ HR department establishes an appropriate policy for the appointment of internships, which is understood and followed by all departments.”
Following the critical report, the States are now working on the development of policy and procedures surrounding internship recruitment, while the HSSD Human Resources department and Executives are now also working with the JAC to ensure “proper oversight in all key posts”.
They’ve now brought the review threshold down from senior HSSD jobs with salaries of over £100,000 down to £75,000 (excluding clinical posts) until it is, “…satisfied that [the department] has appropriate procedures in place.”
A HSSD spokesperson commented: “The Department welcomes and greatly values the Commission’s advice and support. A meeting is being arranged with the Chair of the Commission to discuss various issues and ensure that the Department and the Commission are content with recruitment processes going forward.”
Going forward, the JAC are now considering sanctions for non-compliance across departments.
They’ll also be keeping a close eye on other areas of “continuing concern”, including the “inappropriate” involvement of retiring Chairs and CEOs in the appointment of their successor, and the length of time between a knowledge of a vacancy by the States and the start of a recruitment process – such as was apparently the case with the replacement of the Director of Financial Services, where no formal notification was given to the Commission for six months.
Despite the issues identified, a spokesperson the JAC added: “The majority of appointments with which the JAC were involved proceeded smoothly and in accordance with the law and JAC Guidelines.”