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Finnish Government and Its Civil Service
Finnish Government and Its Civil Service
Finland is a sovereign Republic, which has been a member of the European Union since 1995. The country’s supreme
governing bodies are the Parliament, the President of the Republic, and the Council of State.
The Parliament is a single-chamber that consists of 200 members elected every 4 years. It is vested with legislative power.
It is headed by the Speaker, also known as the President of the Parliament, who is responsible for parliamentary administration.
The incumbent Speaker is Paula Risikko.
The President of the Republic is elected for 6 years and can be elected for a maximum of 2 consecutive terms. The
governmental powers are exercised by the President and the Government. In Finland, the term “government” refers to the
Cabinet/Ministries of Finland. It consists of the Prime Minister and the necessary number of ministers. Currently, the
Government is headed by Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, along with 17 ministers. Finland’s incumbent president is Sauli Niinistö.
While the legislative power is vested on the Parliament, its main duty is to hear and pass legislation. The drafting of bills
and budget are actually done by the ministries. The Council of state is responsible for scrutinizing the bills and submitting them
to the Parliament for hearing. The Council of State is comprised of the Prime Minister, the ministers, and the independent
Chancellor of Justice, who reviews the council’s proceedings for legality, as well as the president’s actions.
Finland also has a judiciary branch, which the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court as the highest
instances. The Supreme Court shall have a President and at least 15 members.
Overall, the government is composed of 12 ministries, excluding the Prime Minister’s Office. These ministries are:
The area for which each ministry and minister is responsible is specified by law and is generally indicated by the name of the
ministry. Matters which do not fall within the scope of any other ministry are handled by the Prime Ministers Office.
Responsible for the human resource policies and central government employer policies is the Office for the Government
as Employer, under the Ministry of Finance. This, in conjunction with the Public Governance Department, supports government
agencies in their role as employers. It acts as the employer representative on behalf of central government in centralized
collective agreement negotiations and prepares matters concerning protection of the interests of the government as an
employer in incomes policy, labour policy and policy decisions regarding working life. A collective agreement is where general
and basic employment standards or conditions are set and agreed upon for a fixed period between the trade unions and one or
more employers. The personnel policy guidelines are decided at the central level. The state operating units are independent on
their own personnel policy strategies and their implementation. They decide upon their own HR issues including the number of
staff, recruitment, personnel development, salaries, etc.
Finland ranks 5th on the Top 10 Best Civil Service according to the International Civil Service Effectiveness Index. No single
law governs the whole civil service of Finland. Its civil service is said to be governed by multiple laws or acts, which include the
Finnish Constitutional Act, the State Civil Servants’ Act, the Employment Contracts Act, and the law and decree on collective
agreements for state civil servants and public employees. The main legal basis for civil service in Finland are the State Civil
Servants’ Act and the Employment Contracts Act. There are two because public sector employees are categorized into two: civil
servants and public employees. Civil servants are known as the statutory staff, who come under public law. Public employees,
on the other hand, are the contractual staff, who are as a general rule employed on private-law contracts, which may or may
not be fixed-term, for the performance of duties which cannot be assigned to established civil servants because there is no
body of established civil servants able to assume them , or for the performance of duties for which there is a permanent
demand but which involve part-time working.
In 2018, there were approximately 525 000 employees in the public sector. Around 87% are civil servants while the
remaining 13% are public employees. Of the 525 000:
- 437,000 belong to the Local Government
- 6,000 to State Enterprises; and
- 88,000 to the Central State (of which 5000 to Ministries)
Public employees must act in defence of neutrality, sovereignty and impartiality in their work. In 2001, a set of common values
(with highly ethical contents) were defined for the state. These are the following:
1. Expertise 8. Equality
2. Impartiality 9. Economic efficiency
3. Rule of law and responsibility 10. Innovativeness
4. Openness 11. General acceptability
5. Trust 12. Dedication
6. Service principle 13. Collegiality
7. Result-orientedness 14. Obedience
HR CORE FUNCTIONS
I. Recruitment
The Finnish civil service is a position-based system. Entries into the civil service is gained through direct application and
interview for a specific post, with all posts being published and open to internal and external recruitment. There is no career
system except for the military and the foreign service. This means that advancement in the civil service through seniority is not
possible. Measures have been taken to increase the use of external recruitment for management, but decrease it for secretarial
positions and technical support. There are general targets to encourage women to apply for management positions.
While the central government is responsible for collective agreements, recruitment, selection, and placement, on the
other hand, are decentralized to agency level. This means that each ministry or agency organizes the recruitment of its staff.
Civil servants are recruited permanently or for fixed-term. They may be laid off if the post becomes obsolete. There is no
official system of political appointment of civil servants, but there exist “hidden political appointments”, especially at the
highest level of the state central administration and at the municipal administration. Regardless of the political background of
appointment, the position of these civil servants is the same as other civil servants.
There is no single set of specific qualification standards that is required to enter public office. Qualifications for a post vary
from one agency to another. Nevertheless, the Finnish Constitution lays down a number of minimum criteria. Section 125 of the
Finnish Constitution states that the general qualifications for public offices shall be skill, ability and proven civic merit. And that
only Finnish citizens are eligible for appointment to certain public offices or duties. Other conditions may be required such as
education, experience and language ability but this doesn’t apply to all agencies. In a large number of central government jobs
a university degree is required.
In the Philippines, the career civil service system is substantially career-based. Entry into the civil service is based on the
four qualification standards: eligibility, education, experience, and training.
Finland has flexible retirement age (63-68 years) for earnings-related pensions, while the retirement age in the guaranteed
pension scheme is 65 years.
In the Philippines, Retirement Age for government employees can be claimed at the age of 60 but not more than 65 years old.
BEST PRACTICES
Monthly salaries are calculated mainly around job evaluation systems, measuring the complexity of the tasks assigned, and
individual performance appraisal.
Individual performance component may not exceed 50% of the pay assigned to each post. Agencies also determine their own
performance appraisal methods. In addition, there are annual result-related bonuses in around 25 State Agencies, which is
being extended to other agencies.
Some agencies have other features, such as individualized pay, separate calculations for the emoluments of senior positions
and Ministers, etc. The Office for the Government as Employer does not publish collective salary scales.
Relocation Programme
The aim is to relocate 4,000 to 8,000 government jobs beyond the capital city region by 2015. This reform aims to ensure a
more balanced development of the country. The purpose is to safeguard effective execution of government functions and
ensure adequate staffing for government functions in future; to promote balanced regional development and foster
employment in different parts of the country; and to base relocation decisions on uniform practice and democratic decision-
making.
The objective is to create a central government with a clear structure, steering and management systems, with a capability for
change and risk management, and with customer-responsive, primarily electronic services. The big picture will be managed
across administrative and sectoral boundaries. The focus will be on developing a functionally coherent Government and
government practices as well as utilisation of cross-administrative entities and digitalisation.