Basic duties and rights

Following are the basic duties and rights of civil servants. They are similar to those of contract employees, although the legal basis may differ, being more explicit concerning the civil servants.

The main obligation is to carry out duties competently and without delay in line with the supervision and regulatory requirements. A superior is responsible for management and supervision of work through allocating tasks and monitoring their progress. Regulatory requirements consist of rules that are common to all (on working hours, annual holidays and official journeys) and other separately defined rules.

A civil servant shall conduct him- or herself in a manner commensurate with his or her position and duties and shall not demand, accept or receive financial or other benefit, if it might weaken trust in the civil servant or the authority he or she represents. The position of a civil servant may place specific demands on behaviour also in leisure time. A benefit jeopardising trust in official functions may manifest in a way that the benefit may cause an outsider to cast doubt on the impartiality of the action. The ways of preventing jeopardising the trust and procedures in unclear situations should be discussed in the government operational unit to avoid unclear situations.

A civil servant can’t act in a civil personnel organisation or union in such a position that the activity is in conflict with official duties, if the duties include representing the government as employer. The civil servants representing the employer have been laid down in a decree.

According to the State Civil Servants Act a civil servant shall notify the employer if he or she wishes to engage in a secondary occupation in his or her free time and seek the employer’s permission for the secondary occupation if it would require using working time. A secondary occupation is either a remunerated job or position unrelated to the official duties that the civil servant has the right to refuse or practising a profession or trade or running a business. A secondary occupation must not cause disqualification in customary official duties and it must not adversely affect discharge of official duties. In their activities, civil servants must avoid everything that conflicts with the actions reasonably required of personnel in their position. The obligation has significance already when the contract is made, and it extends in some degree also to the free time.

A civil servant shall on request provide the employer with information regarding health issues associated with the discharge of his or her duties. The aim is that personnel in government administration workplaces are fit for work and that fitness for work is maintained. It is the superior’s responsibility to ensure that problem situations related to fitness for work are addressed and that assessment of fitness for work is initiated as quickly as possible.

At the employer’s request, the civil servants have to consent to checks and examinations for assessment of his or her state of health, when it is necessary in order to ascertain fitness for discharging his or her duties. Assessment of fitness for work is facilitated by its initiation at an early stage and by the person in question, his superior and the occupational healthcare doctor together discussing the matter.

A civil servant shall not disclose the content of a document subject to secrecy or any matter subject to confidentiality as stipulated by law that has come into his or her knowledge during his or her employment with the authority. The duty of confidentiality continues even after the individual has left the employment with the authority. If the individual moves from state administration to private employment, he or she is bound by the duty of confidentiality that also ensures impartiality.

The employer´s duty is to treat all personnel equally and not to unjustifiably place anyone in a different position from others for reasons of his/her origin, nationality, religion, gender, age or political or trade union activity or any other comparable reason.

The employer shall also allow everyone the freedom to join or not to join an union or to part with one. The constitutional right of citizens is also applied in workplaces of the government administration. If a membership of a union may cause disqualification in official duties, the matter is discussed and the necessary decisions made.

Furthermore, the employer’s duty is to ensure that everyone receives the benefits and rights resulting from the position in such a form as he or she is rightfully entitled to them. As a general rule, the remuneration is determined by how demanding the tasks are and on the basis of personal performance. Other benefits and rights are granted to everyone in such ways as the law prescribes or as is set out in collective agreements or other contracts.

The employer shall also ensure that occupational health and safety issues are adequately covered. Occupational safety particularly means that the work environment is safe and tools and equipment suitable for their purpose. Labour protection also means immediate intervention in cases of bullying, harassment or other inappropriate behaviour.

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