86   Temporary staff transfers (secondments between agencies)

(1)  A member of staff of a public sector agency may transfer temporarily to the service of another public sector agency with the approval of the heads of the home agency and the host agency.

(2)  (Repealed)

(3)  A temporary transfer under this section may be:

(a)  at the request, or with the consent, of the member of staff concerned (an employee-initiated temporary transfer), or

(b)  at the direction of the head of the home agency (an employer-initiated temporary transfer).

(4)  A person may be temporarily transferred under this section at the person’s existing level of remuneration or at a different level of remuneration. However, an employer-initiated temporary transfer cannot be made at a lower level of remuneration.

(5)  A person who transfers to the service of another public sector agency under this section remains an employee of the home agency.

(6)  However, in the case of an employee-initiated temporary transfer, the person ceases to be an employee of the home agency and becomes an employee of the host agency if:

(a)  the transfer has continued for at least 2 years, and

(b)  the head of the home agency notifies the person of the proposed cessation of employment, and

(c)  the person decides to remain with the host agency with the consent of the head of that agency.

(6A)  The head of the host agency may appoint the person who becomes an employee of the agency under subsection (6) (the relevant person) to a position in the agency (the new position) that is:

(a)  at the same grade as (or at a grade similar to) the relevant person’s original position in the home agency, or

(b)  at any grade higher than the relevant person’s original position in the home agency.

(6B)  The new position may, but need not, be advertised. Accordingly, if the new position is a position in the Public Service and it is not advertised, an appointment under subsection (6A) is not an appointment to which section 19 applies.

(6C)  If the relevant person is appointed to the new position, the head of the host agency may decide to make the appointment without requiring the person to serve any period of probation.

(6D)  The relevant person may be appointed to the new position only if each of the following requirements is satisfied:

(a)  the rate of salary or wages payable to the person at the time of appointment to the new position must not exceed the maximum rate payable for Grade 12, Administrative and Clerical Division, of the Public Service,

(b)  the head of the host agency must be satisfied that ongoing work is available in respect of the person in the agency,

(c)  the head of the host agency must be satisfied that the person has the qualifications, experience, standard of work performance and capabilities to enable the person to perform the duties of the new position.

(6E)  Without limiting subsection (6D), if:

(a)  the grade of the new position is higher than the grade of the relevant person’s original position in the home agency, and

(b)  the new position has not been advertised,

      the relevant person may be appointed to the new position only if the person has been performing duties in the host agency at a grade that is the same as (or similar to) the grade of the new position and was performing those duties following some form of open competition that involved the selection of the person as the person who, in the opinion of the head of the host agency, had the greatest merit among the candidates concerned.

(7)  In the case of an employee-initiated temporary transfer, a permanent appointment may be made to the original position of the person (and without the person ceasing to be employed by the agency) if:

(a)  the transfer has continued or is likely to continue for more than 12 months, and

(b)  the person is advised of the proposed appointment, and

(c)  the person is given a reasonable opportunity to terminate the transfer and return to his or her original position.

(8)  In the case of an employer-initiated temporary transfer, a permanent appointment cannot be made to the person’s original position except with the consent of the person.

(9)  The following is to be determined in accordance with such guidelines as are issued from time to time by the Commissioner:

(a)  the procedures for obtaining the consent of an employee under this section,

(b)  the circumstances in which an employer-initiated temporary transfer to a different workplace location in the State may be made.

(10)  In this section:

home agency means the public sector agency from which the transfer of a member of staff is made under this section.

host agency means the public sector agency to which the transfer of a member of staff of another agency is made under this section.

Note. See also section 24 for acting appointments to vacant public service positions or where the holder of the position is suspended, sick or absent.