Compliance monitoring: the approach

The Commissioners are required under the Civil Service Order in Council (and in future under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act) to audit the recruitment systems and practices of Government departments and agencies. The audit in 2008/09 was the last under the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Code.  From 2009-10 a new approach, which has been developed and piloted with around 20 departments and agencies, will monitor compliance with the Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles,  introduced on 1 April 2009.

Monitoring of compliance is contracted to a specialist firm on clearly defined terms and under close supervision by the Commissioners. The compliance monitoring process is overseen by a Compliance Monitoring Standing Committee.  The Committee comprises Commissioners and members of our staff.  The Committee determines how to select the departments and agencies to be visited and decides any topics for thematic review. 

The 2008-09 assessment round was the first under the Commissioners’ contract with DLA Piper.  The Commissioners’ compliance monitoring contract had been  re-tendered in 2008 and DLA Piper was awarded the contract.