As a board director, you must comply with the public sector employment principles and policy requirements.
Employment of the CEO must also comply with the relevant requirement of the enabling legislation of the public entity.
In most cases, the board will ask the CEO to take responsibility for employing staff under them.
The board must always hold the CEO accountable for following the public sector employment principles and the organisation’s employment policies.
Public sector employment principles and standards
All organisations must comply with the employment principles and standards in the Public Administration Act 2004(opens in a new window).
These principles and standards say organisation heads must have employment processes that:
- base employment decisions on merit
- treat public sector employees fairly and reasonably
- give equal employment opportunity
- uphold the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities
- give public sector employees a way to resolve claims of unfair or unreasonable treatment.
Role of the Victorian Independent Remuneration Tribunal
The role of the Remuneration Tribunal is to:
- decide on the remuneration bands for public sector executives
- issue guidelines on the placement of executives in the bands
- at the request of the Minister, decide on the remuneration for an organisation head
- review and analyse public sector remuneration trends
- oversee the Public Entity Executive Remuneration Policy (known in government as the PEER Policy)
You must be aware of the obligations on boards in relation to executive employment, which are included in the PEER Policy. These include the requirement to make a submission to the Tribunal in some circumstances.
Role of the Victorian Public Sector Commission
Standard Executive Employment Contract & Mandatory Terms
We publish a standard executive employment contract.
This has the mandatory terms for an executive’s contract when employed in the public sector.
It's recommended your organisation also adopt the non-mandatory clauses in the standard contract and vary them if needed.
Public Entity Executive Employment Handbook
We also publish the Public Entity Executive Employment Handbook.
The handbook acts to:
- promote clear executive employment arrangements
- ensure the transparent and appropriate use of public funds
- minimise integrity risks
- help organisations manage executive employment contracts, remuneration and employment.
If you breach your obligations
You must meet the obligations set out in the:
- Public Administration Act 2004
- PEER policy.
If you breach these obligations, you could be removed or suspended from your role as board director.
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