An agreement signed by the Spanish Ministry of Finance and Public Administration and a group of non-profit organisations will enable seven million people to gain access to certain public sector jobs that they were previously excluded from for medical reasons (including jobs in the armed forces, the police and public safety, customs and the prison services). The Spanish government regards the previous rules as discriminatory and unwarranted.

After a consultation on public sector recruitment shed light on the process’s complexity, inequality in regional access, and especially the lack of appeal for young people and graduates, the South African Administration is launching a fully paperless recruitment procedure. Currently rolled out for five government ministries, it will be mainstreamed in April.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior, responsible for the German civil service, has announced draft legislation to “modernise civil servant pay to bolster the appeal of the public sector”. Apart from upgrading certain pay and compensation scales, the main innovation will be the creation of a recruitment bonus for employees that refer a successful candidate for a civil service job.