Leaving the Civil Service: Acceptance of outside appointments

It is in the public interest that people with experience of public administration should be able to move into business or other bodies, and that such movement should not be frustrated by unjustified public concern over a particular appointment. It is equally important that when a former Crown servant (a Civil Servant is a Crown servant) takes up an outside appointment there should be no cause for any suspicion of impropriety.

The business appointment rules provide for the scrutiny of appointments that former Crown servants propose to take up in the first two years after they leave the service. To provide an independent element in the process of scrutiny, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments is appointed by the Prime Minister, comprising people with experience of the relationships between the Civil Service and the private sector. The Committee gives advice on applications at the most senior levels, and reviews a wider sample in order to ensure consistency and effectiveness.

The aim of the business appointment rules is to maintain public trust in the Crown services and in the people who work in them, and in particular:

• To avoid any suspicion that the advice and decisions of a serving officer might be influenced by the hope or expectation of future employment with a particular firm or organisation, or
• To avoid the risk that a particular firm might gain an improper advantage over its competitors by employing someone who, in the course of their official duties, has had access to technical or other information which those competitors might legitimately regard as their own trade secrets or to information relating to proposed developments in Government policy that may affect that firm or its competitors.

Staff who are leaving or have left the Agency should not give, or appear to give, advice or take decisions that could be influenced by the hope or expectation of future employment with a particular organisation. This ensures that no company or organisation gains an unfair advantage over its competitors. In particular, they should not be able to employ someone who has, in the course of their Civil Service employment, had access to:

• technical or other information which might be regarded by a competing company as their trade secrets
• information about a proposed Government policy which affects their business or their competitors

This does not apply to unpaid appointments in non-commercial organisations nor to appointments in the gift of Ministers.

The business appointment rules apply to all employees of the Agency.

Any staff within two years of leaving the Civil Service, wishing to take up any full-time, part-time or fee-paying employment in a public or private company, in the UK or abroad, or in the service of a foreign Government or its agencies, will be required to seek approval, if any of the following apply to them:

• Are in the Senior Civil Service (at Division Head or equivalent) and in a post attracting a minimum JESP score of 13; or if they are specialists or Special Advisors equivalent standing.
• Have had any official dealings with their prospective employer during the last two years of Crown employment.
• Have dealt with the employer repeatedly or continually throughout their career in the Civil Service.
• Have had access to commercially sensitive information of use to the prospective employer.
• Have intentions of being employed as a consultant, either for a company or as self-employed, and have had dealings of a commercial nature with outside bodies in the last two years of their service in the Agency.
• Are involved in procurement or have any financial, budgetary or other responsibility in relation to purchasing or project management, staff must report any such approach, particularly where it comes from an outside employer with whom they or their staff have had official dealings. Offers should be reported whether or not they are considering accepting it.

The following rules also apply to staff seconded staff:

• Staff on secondment from the Civil Service to the Agency and from the private sector, are subject to the rules in the same way as other civil servants.
• Staff on secondment to the Agency from other organisations are also subject to the rules in the same way as civil servants unless they return to their parent company at the end of their secondment and remain there for two years.

Special advisers are subject to the rules in the same way as other Civil Servants, unless they are offered a post by the same employer which they left on being appointed as advisers and remain there for two years. The rules do not apply to special advisers appointed before 1 April 1996 on terms exempting them from the rules, unless they have volunteered to be subject to them.

Staff should report an approach or offer of employment covered by these rules to the Agency's Head of Recruitment and Policy, whether or not they are considering taking it up.

Staff or former staff seeking approval to take up an outside appointment should apply to the Agency for permission using the standard form or through the Head of Recruitment and Policy.

Staff must obtain Government approval before taking any form of full, part time or fee-paid employment in the UK, or overseas in a public or private company or in the service of a foreign government or its agencies, within two years of leaving Crown employment, if:

Applications to undertake work or activities may be approved unconditionally or conditionally. Conditions imposed on the appointment can apply for up to two years. They may include:

• a waiting period before the appointment can be taken up
• restrictions on involvement in dealings between the prospective employer and the Government
• a ban on the involvement by the applicant in dealings between the prospective employer and a named competitor (or competitors) of that employer
• in the case of consultancies, a requirement to seek official approval before accepting commissions of a particular nature, or from named employers

Applications at Chief Executive level or equivalent are considered by the Head of the Home Civil Service.

Decisions on all applications, other than those referred to the Prime Minister through the Advisory Committee, rest with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State has delegated this authority to the Director of Personnel.

Appeals
Staff are informed in writing of the decision on their application to undertake outside work or activities. If permission is refused, an appeal can be made to the Agency's human resources department through the Head of Recruitment.