A notable aspect of the draft Law on Cadres and Civil Servants (amended), currently under discussion at the 9th session of the National Assembly, is the provision allowing the recruitment of talented individuals from the private sector through direct appointment and fixed-term contracts signed with experts and scientists to perform specific civil service tasks.

Civil service and labor contracts

Civil servants is understood as the officers at state agencies, holding long-term or lifetime positions there and listed in the state’s payroll. Meanwhile, labor contracts specify fixed terms of working.

Regarding recruitment through either permanent civil service scheme or labor contracts, National Assembly Deputy Pham Trong Nghia from LangSon stated that each approach has its advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage of the civil service scheme is stability in terms of policies and benefits (salary, allowances, insurance), thus encouraging talented individuals to commit long-term to the public sector. This is particularly important for roles requiring high expertise or strategic responsibilities.

However, "lifetime tenure" is gradually being replaced by performance-based evaluations and specific KPIs, reducing the rigidity of civil service while maintaining necessary stability.

Meanwhile, labor contracts help reduce pressure on the state payroll, while creating a superior compensation mechanism, mobilizing resources from outside the state budget. 

The disadvantage of labor contracts is the lack of long-term stability, which can cause talented people to hesitate to stick with the state apparatus if the regime is not attractive enough.

Nghia suggested signing contracts for specific civil service tasks, especially with experts, scientists, or talented individuals. 

“This is a flexible approach in line with global trends, allowing the public sector to attract talent from the private sector or specialized fields without requiring their integration into the civil service payroll,” he said.

For key positions, or roles that need long-term commitments, such as leadership, management or highly specialized positions, it would be better to apply a lifetime civil service mechanism to ensure stability and accountability. 

For project-based, short-term, or highly specialized roles, such as project management or technical staff, labor contracts are more suitable, paired with competitive compensation policies.

“Additionally, the law should establish a flexible policy framework, allowing transitions between civil service and labor contracts based on practical needs and individual capabilities, while ensuring commensurate benefits," Nghia said.

Civil servant classification

In the current context of reorganizing and merging administrative units at all levels, there will be a large number of redundant officials and civil servants. 

Many people say that to successfully recruit talented staff, it is necessary to terminate civil servants who do not meet the job requirements. It is impossible to both recruit new people and keep the old ones.

To reach that end, Nghia believes that evaluating and classifying officials based on competency is critical. Only through clear criteria can those who fail to meet job requirements be removed from the system.

"We need to establish transparent evaluation criteria through a specific competency assessment framework, including professional qualifications, skills, work performance, attitude, and contribution to the organization. These criteria must be publicized and applied consistently.

“To ensure fairness and objectivity, a multi-dimensional approach should be used, i.e., the combination of evaluations from superiors, colleagues, and self-assessments. Based on these results, officials can be classified into some groups: outstanding, meeting requirements, needing further training, or not meeting standards. High-performing officials should be prioritized for retention, while those who do not meet standards must be removed," he said.

Additionally, Nghia emphasized the need for appropriate salary policies, including advancement opportunities, while focusing on creating a professional work environment that encourages creativity and supports work-life balance to retain talent for the system.

In Vietnam, there is a prevalent issue in which public employees pursue advanced professional training and obtain various certificates to meet the standards for professional ranking upgrading. The promotion of professional titles primarily addresses salary increases rather than reflecting the true essence of rank advancement.

For example, in general education schools, there is no significant difference in teaching quality between teachers of rank 3 and rank 2. Similarly, in the healthcare sector, there is no notable difference in work capability between doctors of rank 3 and rank 2.

Therefore, the Ministry of Home Affairs proposes that Vietnam consider increasing salaries for public employees and abolishing the mechanism for reviewing professional title rank promotions.

Tran Thuong