Internal guidance that concern dismissal of Civil Service staff: FOI release

Information requested

Please provide any internal guidance, policy documents, circulars, or advice notes currently in use (or used in the past five years) that concern dismissal of Civil Service staff, including but not limited to:

1. Procedures or internal advice on dismissal for misconduct, performance, or redundancy;
2. Any internal guidance circulated to HR teams, line managers, or disciplinary panels;
3. Documents explaining how dismissals should be approved, recorded, or reviewed;
4. Any updates, amendments, or internal communications that revise or clarify such advice.

I am not requesting personal data about individuals, only official guidance or policy materials.

Response

Question 1

A previously released FOI covers the policy and procedures for discipline, attendance, probation, and performance - see Scottish Government employment policies covering multiple areas. This information contains the procedures and internal advice on dismissal for misconduct, attendance, probation and performance.

Members of staff can also be dismissed on efficiency grounds. There is no separate Scottish Government policy for this; instead, the process follows Cabinet Office guidance Civil Service Efficiency Compensation Guidance

This guidance sets out:

• The circumstances in which dismissal on efficiency grounds may be considered (e.g. persistent failure to meet standards despite support, or inability to perform duties effectively).
• The procedural steps required, including consultation, documentation, and consideration of alternatives before dismissal.
• Key principles such as fairness, proportionality, and compliance with employment law.
• Roles and responsibilities of managers and HR in implementing the process.

Efficiency dismissals are treated as a last resort after all reasonable measures to support improvement have been exhausted.

Redundancy

Currently in Scottish Government, as part of the pay terms and conditions, it has been agreed that there is a No compulsory redundancy policy. The policy commitment on no compulsory redundancies has been extended until 31 March 2027.

The no compulsory redundancy commitment has been a feature of pay awards in the past five years and so there is no procedure or guidance for dismissals due to redundancy.

Question 2- Any internal guidance circulated to HR teams, line managers or disciplinary panels.

As per your request please see below the list of the following Scottish Government internal guidance circulated to HR teams, line managers or disciplinary panels.

Document 1- Discipline- Disciplinary Hearing- Deciding Officers Guide
Document 2- Discipline- Disciplinary Hearing- IO (Investigation Officer) Guide
Document 3- 2025- HR People Advice Team- Performance- Templates and guidance- September 2025
Document 4- 2025- Performance- Deciding Officer Guidance
Document 5- 2025- Performance- Appeal Manager Guidance
Document 6- Probation Policy- Managers guidance
Document 7- Dismissal Action Sheet- (Applicable for performance cases)

Question 3- Documents explaining how dismissals should be approved, recorded, or reviewed;

Please refer to question 1 and the Civil Service Efficiency Compensation Guidance in relation to civil servants who leave the organisation because they are unable to provide regular and effective service due to ill-health.

This process must be completed by submitting a business case to a C-band member of the People Advice Team. This member will review the rationale for the dismissal and assess the proposed compensation percentage.

Dismissals arising from disciplinary processes remain the responsibility of the appointed Deciding Officer, who will also be a C-band or above (SCS) member of the Scottish Government. In these cases, no compensation is involved.

Question 4- Any updates, amendments, or internal communications that revise or clarify such advice. Both the Probation and the Performance Policy have been reviewed over the past 5 years.

As per your request please see below documents reflecting such amendments for these policies:

Document 8- Performance- Summary of main A-C Performance Appraisal refresh changes
Document 9- A-C Band- Probation Policy- Effective to 29 July 2024
Document 10- SCS Old Probation Policy
Document 11- Performance- SCS- Old Policy

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202500490959 - Information Released - Annex

File type

PDF

File size

2.2 MB