Skopje, 22 December 2023 (MIA) – As of January 1, the Ministry of Finance will no longer provide approval for new employments. Instead, the heads of state budget institutions will independently decide on new recruitments in accordance with the annual financial plan and the employment review, Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi said.

“For this to come into effect, the Budget Law and the Budget Execution Law must first be adopted,” Besimi said at the press briefing on Friday.

In order to initiate a new employment process, the institution's manager will need to submit a statement to the Employment Service Agency or the Public Employees Agency, confirming, under full material and criminal responsibility, that the institution's budget has allocated funds for the new employment.

With this, according to the Minister of Finance, the procedure for the hiring process in the public sector is being simplified. The control of the employment process will be the financial plan and the employment review, which the government will approve each year in advance. Any potential abuses can be reported by the employees themselves, and for false statements, the manager will be prosecuted by the public prosecutor's office and the courts.

Up until now, budget beneficiaries, public enterprises, joint-stock companies, limited liability companies in state ownership and public-private entities, prepared an annual employment plan. This plan was submitted to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Information Society and Administration, or the Ministry of Political System. Following this, the Ministry of Finance confirmed the availability of financial resources (granting employment approval), after which institutions proceeded to publish job announcement.

From now on, budget beneficiaries will submit their annual employment plans to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Information Society and Administration, or the Ministry of Political System. While budget beneficiaries, public enterprises, joint-stock companies, and public entities under central government jurisdiction will submit their plans to the relevant ministry. In contrast, public enterprises, joint-stock companies, and limited liability companies under local government jurisdiction will submit their plans to the municipal council. After obtaining approval for the annual plan solely through a statement from the institution's management confirming the availability of funds for employment, a job announcement can be published.

For public enterprises, joint-stock companies, limited liability companies, and public entities under central government authority operating at a loss, the government will need to provide prior approval for employment. In the case of public enterprises, joint-stock companies, and limited liability companies under local government authority, this approval will be granted by the municipality.

Minister Besimi explained that in developed countries, there is no mechanism for controlling employment as we had before, where approval was granted by the Ministry of Finance. He added that the changes are directed towards aligning with the practices observed in developed nations.

He doesn't anticipate the new decision to create a hiring frenzy and expects no hindrances in passing the Budget Law and the Budget Execution Law. Furthermore, he said that the changes are not being made due to the upcoming elections, but were formulated two years ago.

“This involves significant reforms in the employment procedure, decentralizing the process and improving human capital management. The procedure incorporates control mechanisms, meaning that a job announcement cannot be published without the approval of the employment plan,” Besimi noted.

During the press briefing, he addressed the issue of employment in the healthcare sector, emphasizing the need for a sustainable solution. He highlighted ongoing daily communication, the exploration of all options, and the commitment to create a solution based on the needs of the sector.

Photo: MIA