Public Service Commission Act

This Act may be cited as the Public Service Commission ("the Public Service Commission established under Article 233 of the Constitution;") Act.

Section 2 provides definitions for terms used in the Act (interpretation), including "acting appointment", "affirmative action", "appointment", "Commission", and "public officer".

The Act applies to all public bodies and persons holding office in the public service.

The Commission (the Public Service Commission established under Article 233) shall, in fulfilling its mandate, be guided by the national values and principles of governance in Article 10 and the values and principles of public service in Article 232 of the Constitution.

The President must publish any vacancy in the office of a member in the newspaper and the Kenya Gazette within fourteen days of the vacancy occurring.

When vacancies arise among the chairperson, vice-chairperson or members, the Constitution and First Schedule appointment procedure applies; the President must have due regard to continuity of service and must ensure nominated persons' terms do not lapse at the same time.

Section 12 authorises the Public Service Commission to establish committees and to co-opt persons into committee membership; co-opted persons do not have a right to vote.

The Commission may create directorates, departments, divisions or units; those units must follow the Commission's approved mandate and directives given by the Secretary.

The Commission may regulate its own procedure; it may invite persons to attend and participate in meetings, but invited persons do not have a vote in Commission decisions.

Section 15 establishes the Secretary to the Commission, sets recruitment by the Public Service Commission through an open, transparent and competitive process, lists eligibility requirements, requires the Secretary to take the prescribed oath before assuming office, sets a five-year term with eligibility for one re-appointment, enumerates the Secretary's roles and duties, lists grounds for removal, and requires written notice and opportunity to defend before removal.

The Commission must ensure appointments under subsection (2) comply with Article 232 (g), (h) and (i); the Commission may appoint professional, technical and administrative officers and support staff.

The Commission decides the device used as its seal; the Secretary keeps the seal; the affixing of the seal must be authenticated by the Chairperson and the Secretary or another person authorized by the Commission.

The Government Proceedings Act (Cap. 40) applies to any proceedings against the Commission.

Members, officers, staff and agents of the Commission are not personally liable for actions done in good faith in executing the Commission's powers, functions or duties; the Commission itself remains liable to pay compensation or damages arising from exercise of its powers.

Members and employees of the Commission must subscribe to a code of conduct; the Commission may prescribe that code by regulations.

The Commission may issue summons necessary for the fulfilment of its mandate.

The Commission (the Public Service Commission) must ensure reasonable access to its services across the Republic, as appropriate given the nature of its services.

Defines the composition of the Public Service Commission (chairperson, vice‑chairperson and seven other members); requires members to be representative by disability, gender and ethnicity; members serve full‑time for six years and are not eligible for reappointment; the Commission remains properly constituted despite vacancies.

Sets qualifications required for appointment as chairperson and member of the Commission, including citizenship, a recognized degree, specified years of experience, managerial experience for one category, and meeting Chapter Six leadership and integrity requirements.

Members of the Commission must, before assuming office, take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation of office set out in the Second Schedule.

Parliament allocates monies for the purposes of the Commission.

The Commission must prepare annual estimates of its revenue and expenditure at least three months before each financial year and must approve and submit those estimates to the Cabinet Secretary responsible for finance before the financial year begins.

The Commission's financial year shall be the period of twelve months ending on the thirtieth June in each year.

The Commission must keep proper books and records of account, and its annual accounts must be prepared, audited and reported in accordance with the Public Audit Act (Cap. 412B).

This Part applies when the Public Service Commission exercises its constitutional function to establish and abolish public service offices under Article 234(2)(a).

"Establishment of offices in the public service" means the determination and creation of the number and kinds of offices in the public service.

A written request to establish an office must include a statement by the respective authorized officer verifying that the conditions in subsection (1) have been met.

The Public Service Commission must abolish a public service office when it receives a written request from an authorised officer and the conditions listed in subsection (2) are met.

The Commission may on its own motion establish or abolish any office in the public service; before doing so it must give the authorized officer of the concerned public body an opportunity to make representations; its decision must be based on facilitating improvement in service delivery and comply with conditions in section 28.

When the President requests the Public Service Commission to recommend establishing a public service office, the Commission must act in accordance with the conditions provided in this Part.

The Public Service Commission must, by regulations, set criteria for carrying out the monitoring and evaluation duties described in this Part.

The Public Service Commission must investigate, monitor and evaluate the organization of the public service for any public body and make recommendations to the public body, the President and Parliament; if vested with the power to abolish certain public offices, the Commission shall take the necessary action instead of making a recommendation.

Section 59: "Personnel practices inpublic service"; "personnel records management".

The Commission (the Public Service Commission) may investigate the organization, administration and personnel practices of the public service.

The Commission shall communicate its findings to the respective authorised officer, public body or office and, where necessary, take appropriate action.

The Public Service Commission may delegate powers or assign duties in writing, may impose conditions, may audit delegated exercise, and must take corrective measures (including revocation) if delegated powers are misused.

The Commission must in writing designate authorized officers to manage its delegated functions in ministries or state departments.

The Commission (the Public Service Commission established under Article 233) must have powers necessary to discharge functions under Article 234(2)(a)(ii); and that authority is to be exercised at the request of the authorized officer of the public body to which the appointment (appointment, acting appointment, re-appointment, promotion and re-designation) needs to be made.

Sets rules for acting appointments: persons must meet prescribed qualifications before appointment; officers may be appointed to act for between thirty days and six months; public officers may be assigned duties during temporary absence; the Commission must take corrective action if unauthorized acting appointments or assignments occur.

The effective date of an appointment, acting appointment, promotion or re-designation is the date of the decision, or another date if the Commission or an authorised officer determines one.

Section 36 sets criteria for appointment and promotion and requires the Public Service Commission or authorized officers to adopt affirmative action where necessary, ensure prescribed application forms meet the Act's requirements, and approve expatriate appointments only when required expertise is not locally available.

The Public Service Commission or an authorised officer must advertise public office vacancies broadly, include specified information in the advertisement, ensure advertisements do not discriminate, and run them efficiently to give equal opportunity to disadvantaged applicants.

Any appointment, acting appointment, promotion, re-designation, transfer, deployment, delegation or assignment of a duty in the public service must be in writing.

The Commission or any other lawful appointing authority must maintain a record of all applications received in response to an advertisement inviting applications.

Public officers who wish to be re-designated must apply in writing to the respective authorized officer or to the Public Service Commission through the concerned authorized officer; re-designation takes effect on a date to be determined by the Commission or authorized officer, and certain conditions must be met.

Probationary appointments for public officers generally last up to six months, may be extended once by up to six months with the officer's consent; affected officers must be notified at least thirty days before expiry and given reasons for any extension; if not notified or if confirmation is not made after probation lapses the officer is confirmed; probationary service counts towards pension and terminal benefits; probation applies only to persons appointed from outside the public service.

The Public Service Commission has the authority to second public officers; the receiving public body must bear secondment costs; seconded officers may revert if no longer necessary; authorised officers must not approve secondments without Commission written approval.

Authorized officers must send recommendations and comments to the Public Service Commission, which must decide whether a proposed transfer should be approved and must consider specified criteria.

The Commission must prescribe terms and conditions for employment of casual employees within the public service.

A person may be engaged on a term contract lasting at least twelve months but not more than five years; the Public Service Commission must regulate such contractual employment.

Section 46 requires the Commission to, subject to the Constitution or other legislation, prescribe by regulations the qualifications and criteria for nomination to public office.

The Public Service Commission must, when making recommendations under this section, submit to the President a list of nominees for appointment and pay attention to inclusiveness (gender, diverse communities, persons with disabilities and youth).

The Public Service Commission must make regulations to implement the Constitution's inclusiveness requirements for gender, Kenya's diverse communities, persons with disabilities and youth.

The terms of contract with respect to staff in a joint venture or partnerships shall apply for the period of the joint venture or partnership.

When a public officer is moved between public bodies by appointment, re-designation or secondment, the officer's accrued benefits from earlier public service must not be lost.

When vacancies are to be filled by the results of examinations approved by the Public Service Commission, the Commission must make arrangements and issue directions as appropriate.

This Part applies to the discharge of the functions and powers of the Commission (the Public Service Commission) under Article 234(2)(g) of the Constitution.

The Public Service Commission may make recommendations on public officers' conditions of service to the Cabinet Secretary; it must give interested parties an opportunity to make representations before reviewing or recommending, and must establish a framework for continuous review taking into account listed considerations.

The Public Service Commission may review and recommend codes of conduct, and must periodically review codes taking account of public service priorities and changing needs.

The Public Service Commission may review and recommend qualifications for public offices, must consult relevant bodies, give affected persons a chance to make representations, publish and report reviews, and must ensure qualifications are not discriminatory; appointments cannot be made to offices without determined qualifications.

The Public Service Commission and any other lawful authority must take into account the objectives listed in subsection (2) when developing human resources in the public service.

The Public Service Commission may impose sanctions and recommend penalties to the President for an authorised officer who fails to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of a public body.

Section 63 concerns promotion of values and principles of governance and integrating those values and principles into the Commission's regulations, procedures, policies and instruments for delivery of its powers and functions; it references "the Public Service Commission established under Article 233 of the Constitution;"

The Public Service Commission must evaluate and report to the President and Parliament on compliance with Articles 10 and 232 in the public service; publish the report; communicate instances of non-compliance to authorized officers or public bodies and require compliance within a specified period; and authorized officers or public bodies who do not comply are liable to disciplinary action, including removal from office.

Section 65 vests disciplinary control in the Public Service Commission and delegates specified disciplinary powers to authorized officers, but limits dismissal/reduction powers for officers with 15+ years' service, requiring referral to the Commission.

An authorized officer may reprimand a public officer after investigation and after giving them an opportunity to be heard, and may stop a public officer's pay for unauthorised absence; an authorized officer exercising delegated powers must act in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

If a public officer is absent without leave for more than 24 hours and cannot be traced within ten days (or, if traced, fails to reply to a charge within ten days), the authority empowered to dismiss may summarily dismiss the officer; if the officer cannot be traced within ten days the authorised officer must stop salary and allowances and report to next of kin and the Public Service Commission.

Section 68 lists types of disciplinary penalties (recovery of cost, reprimand, deferment of increment, deferment of promotion, dismissal, reduction in rank) and allows the Commission or other disciplinary authority to require retirement instead; dismissal causes forfeiture of pension and related rights; deferment of promotion cannot persist for more than twelve months.

The provision sets principles for disciplinary proceedings in the public service, including that the Public Service Commission may direct proceedings, investigators must not impose penalties and must make findings and recommendations, and that certain persons who can impose penalties must not act as investigators.

Authorised officers may interdict public officers; interdicted officers receive half basic salary and full house allowance, medical allowance or insurance; other benefits withheld; interdicted officers must not leave duty station without permission.

An authorized officer must suspend a public officer charged with a serious criminal offence; suspended officers receive half basic salary and full house allowance while other benefits are withheld, with specific rules on restoration or non-restoration of withheld benefits depending on outcomes.

Public officers who are interdicted or suspended may request updates in writing; the authorized officer must reply within thirty days; if the authorized officer fails to respond or the officer is dissatisfied, the public officer may apply to the Public Service Commission, which must decide and may terminate the disciplinary proceedings.

If a public officer is convicted of a criminal offence and the authorized officer considers penalties are warranted, the authorized officer must send the charge sheet and judgment to the Public Service Commission, which must rely solely on the court record to decide whether to dismiss the officer or apply other penalties; proceedings for minor offences may be disregarded and disciplinary proceedings are confined to criminal proceedings where a prison sentence may be imposed.

A public officer may appeal a disciplinary decision to the Public Service Commission in writing within ninety days; the Commission may accept late appeals, may only hear a particular decision once, appeals do not suspend disciplinary action, and the Commission may uphold, set aside, vary, give directions, order refunds/reinstatement, direct disciplinary action against negligent officers, or make other appropriate decisions.

Provides grounds and procedure for review of disciplinary decisions by the Public Service Commission: applications must be in writing within six months, the Commission may extend time if warranted, the Commission may make various decisions including upholding, setting aside, varying decisions, ordering refunds or reinstatement, and directing disciplinary action; deferred suspension of disciplinary action pending review is not allowed.

A petition to remove the Director of Public Prosecutions must be made in accordance with regulations made by the Commission.

Except as otherwise provided in a contract of service, this Part applies to resignation, retirement, and pension or other benefits due to a public officer.

Public officers must submit a resignation letter to their appointing authority and must give one month's notice or pay one month's salary instead; a person who resigned may rejoin the service subject to appointment rules.

Section 79 lists grounds for retirement and describes entitlement to pension and separation benefits upon exit from the public service.

Public officers must retire when they reach the mandatory retirement age; the Public Service Commission or other appointing authority must not extend their service beyond that age.

A public officer who is at least fifty years old and has served an aggregate of at least five years may choose to retire by giving the authorized officer at least three months' notice.

Section 82 governs retirement on grounds of ill health: an authorized officer must initiate retirement process if a public officer requests retirement for ill health or is considered incapable; the authorized officer must refer the officer to a medical board; the Commission determines retirement and may order further inquiry or direct the authorized officer; if an able officer fails to appear before the medical board the authorized officer must forward the case to the Commission.

A public officer whose contractual terms and conditions of service provide for a special retirement clause when that clause has fallen due.

Section 84 lists grounds for review of a retirement decision (fresh material facts, an error on the record, or manifest absence of parity), states that an application for review must be made within six months of the date of retirement, and allows the Commission to consider late applications if circumstances warrant.

Appeal from County Government public service concerning recruitment, selection, appointment (including acting appointment, re-appointment, promotion and re-designation) and qualifications attached to any office.

Persons dissatisfied with a county public service decision may appeal to the Public Service Commission; appeals must be in writing and made within ninety days, though the Commission may hear late appeals if circumstances warrant; the Commission must make regulations and may uphold, set aside, vary or direct regarding decisions.

The Public Service Commission may co-opt relevant experts when hearing and determining appeals from county government public service; and a person must not start court proceedings about matters within the Commission's jurisdiction to hear such appeals until the Part's procedure is exhausted.

The Public Service Commission may consider late applications for review in exceptional circumstances, and the Commission must state reasons for its decisions on appeals or review applications.

People affected by a Commission decision may file that decision for enforcement in the Employment and Labour Relations Court; persons who refuse, fail or neglect to implement the Commission's decisions are liable to disciplinary action, including removal from office.

The Commission must prepare a report for submission to the President and Parliament within six months after the end of the financial year.

The Commission must publish and publicize the report submitted to the President and Parliament.

The Public Service Commission may make regulations to carry the Act into effect; the Cabinet Secretary may be enabled by delegation to make regulations only to bring the Act into effect and subject to specified statutory and international limits.

Members, officers, and other persons must not publish or disclose to unauthorized persons any documents, communications or information that they learn in the course of performing duties under this Act; contraventions are offences carrying fines and/or imprisonment.

Persons present at Commission or committee meetings must promptly declare any private interest in matters under consideration, the disclosure must be recorded in the minutes, and they must not take part in discussion or vote on that matter unless the Commission or committee directs otherwise; contravention is an offence with fines or imprisonment.

Members of the Public Service Commission in office immediately before this Act continue for the remainder of their terms; former officers may be officers subject to law; pending disciplinary proceedings continue.

On commencement, all property, assets, rights, liabilities, obligations, agreements and other arrangements that were vested in, acquired, incurred or entered into by or on behalf of the Public Service Commission immediately before commencement are deemed to have vested in, been acquired by, incurred by or entered into by or on behalf of the Commission to the same extent as they were enforceable by or against the former Commissions.

Decisions of the Commission affecting a public officer must be communicated to that public officer through the relevant authorized officer.

If a served officer does not respond within twenty one days, the Public Service Commission or an authorized officer may take necessary action; the provision also discusses serving notices on public officers or any person.

Public officers may send directly to the Commission an advance copy of a document that this Act requires to be forwarded to the Commission.

Special obligations of theauthorized officer Section the delegated function, duty performed or power exercised;

The Commission may issue an annual programme to authorised officers setting out a schedule for exercising powers and performing functions under the Act.

The Public Service Commission may, by notice in the Gazette, assign the Job Groups referred to in this Act to public offices in public bodies that do not use such Job Groups.

The Commission must publish and publicize important information within its mandate affecting the nation.