It depends. Temporary appointments of seven months or less are not included in the annual merit performance audit. If your appointment falls into that category, we will not audit it. If your appointment started as short-term but became permanent, you will need to submit the documentation, and we will audit the appointment.
Once we receive a copy of the competition file, we will assign it to an auditor. The auditor will review the file using a standardized audit tool. If they have questions about the hiring process, they will call or email you for more information. If the process was well documented, the auditor will be able [...]
No. To preserve the role of independence, the Merit Commissioner does not provide any staffing advice; providing that type of advice is outside the Merit Commissioner’s mandate. It is the role of the BC Public Service Agency to: Provide staffing guidance and advice on best practices Set human resource policies Set the Accountability Framework for [...]
In the fall, after we have audited all the appointments for a fiscal year, we group the results. We analyze the results for any trends and common issues we observed. We publish in our Merit Performance Audit Report the overall results, observations, and recommendations to improve merit-based hiring on our website.
Twice a year, we provide a detailed report on each appointment audited to: The deputy minister in which the appointment was made. The Deputy Minister of the BC Public Service Agency. We encourage the deputy ministers to share the individual audit reports with the responsible hiring managers.
If there are many audits being done in your ministry, it’s likely due to a combination of: A higher-than-average number of appointments resulting in a greater opportunity for appointments from that organization to be selected. Each quarter, every appointment on our list has an equal chance of being selected as part of the sample for [...]
Yes. On a quarterly basis, we get lists of all permanent and temporary appointments over seven months made in ministries and organizations. We combine these lists and apply a random number generator, which creates our sample. Every appointment on our list has an equal chance of being selected as part of the sample for audit. [...]
Yes. As long as the appointment is made under the Public Service Act, and either permanent or temporary over seven months.
The Merit Commissioner can only audit positions where the Public Service Act applies. On an annual basis, the Merit Commissioner conducts a merit performance audit that examines two types of appointments: Permanent appointments Temporary appointments over seven months Other types of appointments are subject to special audits by the Merit Commissioner. These include: Direct appointments [...]
On whether the hiring process was properly applied, the possible findings are: Finding What it means Merit The process was both properly designed and applied to result in an appointment based on merit. Merit with exception The process contained one or more errors in design or application: there was no identifiable negative impact on the [...]
Office of the Merit Commissioner
Suite 502-947 Fort Street
PO Box 9037 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9A3
Office of the Merit Commissioner
Suite 502-947 Fort Street
PO Box 9037 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9A3
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