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Misunderstandings

In a number of cases we have found that there is a simple lack of understanding of the recruitment principle and/or the misuse of terminology.

An example is the use of the term ‘secondment’. ‘Secondment’ should be used to mean the appointment of someone on a short-term basis from outside the Civil Service, often without fair and open competition. It was found to be incorrectly used to refer to a loan of a serving civil servant between Government departments.

Such misunderstandings have sometimes resulted in departments being assessed as a higher risk than is actually found to be the case. The provisional rating is reduced following a visit from our staff or our auditors to establish the facts. Clearly, some departments and agencies would benefit from paying closer attention to detail when completing the self-assessment return.

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