recruitment
According to the Portuguese Constitution, the public employment relationship is established, as a rule, by way of an open competition procedure, which can take the following forms:
- Common - whenever it aims the immediate or future filling of estimated and unoccupied jobs in a public employer's staff list;
- Centralised - for the formation of recruitment reserves for future use by a set of public employers.
Common Competition Procedure
Common recruitment procedures are, as a rule, restricted to workers with a public employment relationship of an indefinite term. In the absence of such candidates, the public employer, preceding favourable opinion given by the members of the Government responsible for finance and public administration areas may recruit a candidate with a fixed-term employment relationship or without a public employment relationship.
In open competition procedures to which candidates without a previous public employment relationship are admitted, the legal quota of 5% of existing vacancies reserved for people with disabilities (60% or more degree of functional incapacity) is applied.
The top manager of each organisation taking into account the strategy, the objectives set, the organic units' responsibilities, and the available financial resources, decides the opening of a recruitment procedure.
Prior to the opening of any procedure for the recruitment of a worker, either for an indefinite term or for a fixed term, without prejudice to the mobility regime, the public employer's top manager must carry out a prior recruitment procedure of workers in a professional valorisation situation for the functions or jobs in question.
The recruitment is also conditioned to the existence, in the organisation in question or in the Centralized Recruitment Entity (CRE), of candidates in a recruitment reserve for the job(s) to be filled.
Assumptions in Recruitment
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The organisation's top manager shall make the appointment and set up a selection board with competencies to conduct the recruitment procedure until the final ranking list of approved candidates is drawn up. The selection board is responsible for ensuring that the procedure is carried out, even if, by initiative or decision of the top manager, the procedure may be partly carried out by a specialised public or private entity.
Open competitions are compulsorily published in the Official Gazette, on the dedicated recruitment platform, and on the organization's webpage. Other means of dissemination may also be used such as national coverage newspapers.
The
recruitment procedure's notice shall include a reference to the number of jobs
to be filled and respective characterization, in accordance with
responsibility, competence or activity, career,
category, and, where appropriate, the corresponding academic or professional
training area.
Applications
The competent entity to authorize the holding of the open competition states, in each case and in the notice, the opening date and the deadline for submission of applications, with a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 working days calculated as of the date of the notice's publication.
General admission requirements:
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Applications shall, as a rule, be made in an electronic format through the filling in of a standard form.
After applications have been received,
the selection board reviews them,
checking admission requirements. Excluded candidates are
notified and they can appeal of it. The appeal is analysed by the selection
board that shall take the final decision, which is communicated to the
candidate, who has the right to lodge a hierarchical appeal before the
competent body.
Selection Methods
The selection methods shall be initiated within 5 to 10 working days, counting from the end of the applications' analysis. For reasons of procedural speed, the selection board may summon admitted candidates, as well as excluded candidates, who have lodged an appeal, to take part in the selection methods, which does not prevent the subsequent confirmation of the exclusion of these candidates.
Different selection methods are applied taking into account the employment relationship to be formed (open-ended or short term employment relationship), and the recruitment procedure scope (without prejudice to particular selection methods provided for in specific legal texts).
Compulsory Selection Methods
Employment contract |
External access |
Internal access
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With the same category and functional identity |
Without the same category and/or functional identity |
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Open-ended contract
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Knowledge tests + Psychological assessment |
CV assessment |
Knowledge tests
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Short-term contract
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CV assessment + Competency-based interview |
CV assessment |
Candidates may exclude the aforementioned methods through
written declaration. In this case, the methods provided for the other
candidates are applied to them.
Complementary Selection Methods
Other selection methods may be optionally or additionally adopted namely:
- The mandatory selection methods may also be used as complementary ones;
- Competencies assessment by Portfolio;
- Physical tests;
- Medical examination;
- Specific training course.
Centralised Recruitment
The centralised recruitment procedure was regulated in April 2019 and is defined as a strategic tool that allows overall planning and recruitment on a multi-annual basis according to the needs identified by each governmental area. The main purpose is the setting up of a recruitment reserve to meet the needs of a range of public employers, as well as to provide Public Administration with qualified human resources, safeguarding merit, efficiency, and transparency.
The members of the Government in charge of Finance and Public Administration are responsible for the decision to initiate a centralised recruitment procedure. Such a decision is made by a joint order and shall be carried out by the Directorate General for Administration and Public Employment (DGAEP), in its capacity as the Centralized Recruitment Entity (CRE).
Recruitment Reserve List Constitution Phases
Phases |
Features |
Opening |
Decided by joint order of the members of the Government responsible for Finance and Public Administration areas |
Recruitment Area |
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Publicising |
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Selection board |
Appointed by the CRE top manager to be responsible for all the centralised recruitment operations |
Applications |
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Selection Methods |
Knowledge tests; psychological assessment |
Recruitment reserve final ranking list |
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Approval of the final ranking of the reserve candidates list |
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Establishment of a recruitment reserve |
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Placement Offer Procedure Phases
Phases |
Features |
Use of the recruitment reserve |
Top managers of public bodies or services who intend to recruit workers with the professional profiles identified in the recruitment reserve shall communicate that intention to the CRE, accompanied by information on the placement offer |
Jobs publicising |
CRE publishes the placement offers, indicating:
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Expression of interest |
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Skills appraisal interview |
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Candidate's notification |
All candidates taking part in the skills
appraisal interview are notified of the placement offer list for stakeholders'
hearing purposes
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Approval of the placement offer list |
After the stakeholders' hearing, the placement offer list is approved by the top manager of the body or service responsible for recruitment, within the time limit of two working days. This act may be administratively challenged |
Starting of functions communication |
Public bodies or services communicate to the CRE
the conclusion of an employment contract in public functions within the time
limit of five working days after the placement offer conclusion. Such a procedure
aims at excluding candidates from the recruitment reserve list
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Candidates excluded from the placement offer list shall remain in the reserve final ranking list keeping the corresponding rating.
The placement offer procedure is repeated as long as there are candidates in the recruitment reserve and work posts that have not been filled