Manama : His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, today issued Edict (117) of 2023, regulating the Shared Financial Services Division (SFSD), based on a proposal by the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) and the Ministry of Finance and National Economy.
The edict stipulates the following:
Article (I)
Definitions
As per the CSB Law promulgated by Decree Law (48) of 2010, the provisions contained in this edict will have the same meanings as those in that law, and the following words and phrases will have the same definitions, unless otherwise stated in the text:
The Ministry: Ministry of Finance and National Economy
The Minister: Minister of Finance and National Economy
The entity: Civil Service Bureau (CSB)
The Shared Financial Services Division: The services performed by government agencies include the procedures they follow regarding the implementation of the state’s general budget on unified and common foundations, as well as recording and classifying the financial operations and expenses incurred by them as a result of the financial contracts they conclude, including utilising financial control tools and internal financial control systems before disbursement.
This includes analysing the financial situation and final accounts of government agencies to ensure that they accurately reflect the reality of their financial positions, thereby conserving the Kingdom’s resources and rationalising expenditures to increase central financial efficiency.
The Shared Financial Services Division employees: Directors, department heads, and financial resources employees assigned by the Ministry to perform Shared Financial Services work.
Article (II)
The transfer of financial resources, staff, and their supporting employees to the ministry.
In the case of department directors, transfers of financial resources to employees and their supporting positions to the ministry must be made by the minister after coordinating with the competent authority in the government entity from which the transfer is made and after the entity’s approval.
Article (III)
The secondments of directors and heads of departments in the Shared Financial Services Division
Employees of the Shared Financial Services Division may be seconded to government agencies in the position of Directors and department heads only, and such secondments will be determined by the Minister following approval by the entity, following the Laws of CSB, and subject to the following controls:
1. Directors and department heads rotate according to business requirements
2. It is not permissible for a director or department head to be reassigned to the same government entity to which they were assigned to except after at least one year has passed from the date of his assignment to another government entity, unless other circumstances dictate otherwise.
Government agencies, with the approval of the ministry and CSB, may assign their employees to fill the Shared Financial Services Division positions mentioned in the first paragraph of this article if they serve work requirements.
Article (IV)
The Deployment of the SFSD staff and their supporting jobs are given to government agencies
The Minister, in coordination with the CSB, will dispatch SFSD employees other than directors and department heads, as well as service employees supporting them, to government agencies to perform their work according to business requirements determined by the CSB.
The Minister can terminate the deployment or change the entities to which employees are assigned at any time in coordination with the CSB.
As stated in the first paragraph of this article, if the positions mentioned in the first paragraph are filled in the approved organisational structures of the ministry by a full secondment, those seconded may also be dispatched to government agencies in the same manner referred to in the first paragraph.
Article (V)
Filling government positions based on approved organisational structures
Positions within the Shared Financial Services Division and their supporting services are not permitted within the approved organisational structures of government agencies unless they meet the requirements of Articles (III) and (IV) of this edict.
Financial resource occupations assigned to organisational structures in government agencies are considered fundamental for determining their needs for seconded employees or those seconded by the ministry.
Article (VI)
Administrative Management
The CSB must consult the minister whenever it establishes, modifies, or cancels directorates senior positions or other positions in government agencies that are directly related to the Shared Financial Services Division.
Article (VII)
Recruiting people to perform common financial services tasks
According to the CSB regulations, the Minister shall conduct the recruitment procedures for employees of SFSD and their supporting services, considering the applicable rules for appointing occupants of senior positions and like, as well as the actual needs of government agencies and the employment ceiling.
The ministry shall take the necessary steps to assign or dispatch new employees by Articles (III) and (IV) of this decree, based on the available vacancies in the approved organisational structure for service employees and SFSD employees and their support services employees, based on the approved financial budgets.
Article (VIII)
Payroll, job benefits, and human resources requests
1. The approved budget of the government entity shall include recurring expenses for joint financial services functions and their supporting services. The CSB and the ministry must coordinate with the government entity to consider the expenses allocated to them and the limits for employment.
2. It is the responsibility of the government agencies to whom SFSD employees, and the supporting service employees who are seconded to pay their salaries, benefits, and retirement contributions during their assignment and dispatch to those agencies through financial appropriations included in their budgets for this purpose, which also cover all entitlements from end to end. Their service is based on the credits they earned with the last entity to which they were dispatched or seconded.
3. Promotions, bonuses, allowances, incentive bonuses, and overtime compensation are granted, and any procedures regarding the employees mentioned above or their job benefits are implemented by the decision of the minister. The financial appropriations are determined by the government agencies where they perform their work, and in which they are subject to an annual ceiling.
4. The ministry shall pay the salaries and all job benefits assigned to Shared Financial Services employees and their support services employees if their assignment or dispatch ends, as well as their retirement contributions and end-of-service benefits, throughout their period of employment with the ministry.
5. The government entity responsible for the Shared Financial Services Division employees and their support services employees must ensure that human resources regulations and rules regarding them are followed and that their related requests are passed on to the ministry through the Human Resources Management Information System (HoRISon).
Article (IX)
Vacations
Employees of the SFSD and their support service employees in the government entity shall have their vacations approved by their directors, and the ministry shall be notified of their vacations.
Government entities assigned to SFSD employees are required to approve vacations of employees at the highest level of their job classification.
Article (X)
Attendance Records
The government entity shall apply the attendance system applicable to the SFSD employees and the supporting services employees, for the duration of their employment with the government entity, and shall apply the CSB regulations issued in this regard to them, and grants bonds directly following the directives.
In cases of salary deductions, the government entity shall coordinate with the ministry and shall send its reports in that regard, together with the required statement, to the ministry regularly.
Article (XI)
Investigation, disciplinary sanctions, and grievances
The Minister is required to investigate Shared Financial Services staff and those in positions supporting them, impose disciplinary measures, and initiate grievance procedures, excluding senior and similar-level employees.
Article (XII)
Job Performance Evaluation
The government entity shall prepare and provide the department a report on employee performance when the length of service of SFSD employees and their support services employees in the government entity reaches up to six months.
The ministry shall view this report when drafting the employee’s annual evaluation report or is transmitted to the government entity, to which the employee, referred in the third paragraph of article (IV) of this decree.
If the duration of employment in the government entity is less than the period mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the ministry shall prepare, approve, and coordinate with the government agencies in which the employees worked during the year, excluding the employees mentioned in the third paragraph of article (IV) of this decree.
SFSD and supporting services staff shall have their own distribution curve to evaluate their career performance, according to CSB regulations.
Article (XIII)
Service File
Two identical service files shall be created for each SFSD employee and their supporting services employees, one of which is an original file and is filed with the Ministry, and the other is a subsidiary file that is filed with the government entity in which the employee works. The subsidiary file is delivered to the Ministry in the event of the employee’s secondment ending, the termination of their delegation, or their services ending.
Each SFSD employee and supporting services employee shall be established with two identical service files, one originally issued with the ministry, the other a sub-file issued with the employee’s government entity, and the sub-file shall be delivered to the ministry in the event of the termination of the employee or at the end of their services.
Article (XIV)
Responsibilities and jurisdictions of government entities
1- SFSD and supporting services employees shall be seconded or dispatched by the government entity and shall inform the Ministry of such reports, notes, or recommendations as it deems appropriate concerning the discipline and performance of the staff members to ensure performance control. It must also send its recommendation for referral to the investigation and disciplinary sanctions if there are justifications and evidence of a disciplinary act.
2- Government entities must include SFSD employees and their support services employees in their training programmes and official participation, whenever it’s available, according to their annual plan to train the rest of their employees, provided that they coordinate with the ministry in this regard.
3- Government entities may assign SFSD employees and their supporting services employees to chair or become members of committees work teams, and other tasks, after the Ministry’s approval. They may also recommend the granting of promotions, bonuses, and incentive rewards, provided that their recommendation to the ministry is accompanied by justifications and documents supporting that (If any).
4- Government entities must provide offices, parking lots, technical devices, and other materials and needs necessary to enable SFSD employees and their supporting services employees to perform their duties in accordance with what is followed by the CSB and the systems and needs of each entity.
5- The government entity is responsible for its actions, financial decisions, plans, and programmes in all cases and must have the benefit of general SFSD and support services staff to carry out their responsibilities and obligations regarding this matter.
Article (XV)
Applicability of regulations, resolutions, and instructions issued under the CSB Law
The regulations, decisions, and instructions issued under the CSB Law promulgated by Decree Law (48) of 2010 shall be applied, unless there is a specific text regarding this in the decree.
Article (XVI)
Termination
Edict (21) of 2020 regulating the Shared Financial Services Division shall be terminated.
Article (XVII)
Enforcement
Ministers and the CSB President, each in their capacity, shall implement the provisions of this decree, which takes effect upon its publication in the Official Gazette.
