Joint Circular No. 04/2009/TTLT-BNV-BTC guiding the implementation of the seniority allowance system for civil servants who have been classified according to specific ranks or positions in the judiciary, prosecution, auditing, inspection, civil enforcement, and forest protection sectors.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines on the implementation of seniority allowances for officials and civil servants who have been assigned salaries according to specialized ranks or positions

in the judiciary, prosecution, auditing, inspection, civil enforcement, and forestry protectioncourt, prosecution, audit, inspection, civil enforcement, and forestry inspection

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Pursuant to Decree No. 48/2008/NĐ-CP dated April 17, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs;

is a medicine production facility certified by the competent authority of a country participating in the EMA or ICH or PIC/s to meet EU-GMP or PIC/s-GMP standards or equivalent, and announced by the Ministry of Health (Drug Administration Department) on the Drug Administration Department's electronic information website.

Pursuant to Decree No. 76/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 15, 2009 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 204/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2004 of the Government on salary systems for officials, civil servants, public employees, and armed forces;

The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Finance provide guidelines on the implementation of seniority allowances for officials and civil servants who have been assigned salaries according to specialized ranks or positions in the judiciary, prosecution, auditing, inspection, civil enforcement, and forestry protection as follows:

Article 1. Scope of application

The seniority allowance system prescribed in this Circular applies to officials and civil servants within the establishment who are assigned salaries according to specialized ranks or positions in the judiciary, prosecution, auditing, inspection, civil enforcement, and forestry protection, including:

1. Chief Justices and Deputy Chief Justices of People's Courts at all levels; Judges of People's Courts at all levels; Court Secretaries and Judicial Assistants in the Judiciary (Senior Judicial Assistants, Principal Judicial Assistants, and Judicial Assistants);

2. Procurators General and Deputy Procurators General of People's Procuracy at all levels, Prosecutors of People's Procuracies at all levels, Investigators at all levels, and Judicial Assistants in the Procuracy (Senior Judicial Assistants, Principal Judicial Assistants, and Judicial Assistants);

3. State Auditors General and Deputy State Auditors General, and State Auditor Members (Senior State Auditor Members, Principal State Auditor Members, State Auditor Members, Probationary State Auditor Members);

4. State Inspectors General and Deputy State Inspectors General, Heads of State Inspection Agencies and Deputy Heads of State Inspection Agencies, and Inspectors (Senior Inspectors, Principal Inspectors, and Inspectors);

5. Heads and Deputy Heads of Civil Enforcement Agencies at all levels, Civil Enforcement Officers at all levels, Enforcement Assistants (Senior Enforcement Assistants, Principal Enforcement Assistants, and Enforcement Assistants), and Enforcement Secretaries;

6. Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Forest Protection Bureaus, Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Forest Protection Districts, Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Forest Protection Stations, and Forest Rangers (Principal Forest Rangers, Forest Rangers, College-Level Forest Rangers, Intermediate-Level Forest Rangers, and Basic-Level Forest Rangers).

1. A 25% allowance rate shall be applied to:

1. The percentage of seniority allowance is calculated as follows:

Officials and civil servants specified in Article 1 of this Circular, with a working period of five years (60 months) as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Circular, shall be entitled to a seniority allowance equal to 5% of their current salary plus leadership position allowance and seniority allowance exceeding the ceiling (if applicable); from the sixth year onwards, each additional year (12 months) entitles them to an additional 1%.

2. The monthly amount of seniority allowance is calculated using the following formula:

Article 3. Time of work for seniority allowance calculation

1. The time of work eligible for seniority allowance shall be determined by the total of the following periods:

a) The period during which the individual was paid according to one of the ranks or positions in customs, courts, prosecution, auditing, inspection, civil enforcement, forest protection, Party inspection (if there is a break in service but the seniority allowance has not been received as a one-time social insurance benefit, such periods shall be accumulated);

b) The period during which the individual received seniority allowance while serving in the military, police, and cryptographic services (if applicable);

c) The period of compulsory military service as prescribed by law for individuals who were receiving seniority allowances before their military service.

Example:

Mr. Nguyen Van A was recruited to work at the Office of Ministry C, and upon completion of his probationary period, he was assigned a salary grade as a Specialist from October 1, 1985. On July 1, 1993, he was transferred by the competent authority to work at the Inspection Department of Ministry C, concurrently assigned a salary grade as an Inspector (code 04.025). From May 1, 2000, he was transferred to work at Department B of Ministry C and reassigned to the Specialist rank (code 01.003). Since May 1, 2003, he has been transferred to work at the State Audit Office and assigned a salary grade as an Auditor (code 06.043) up to the present. As of January 1, 2009, the time of work eligible for seniority allowance of Mr. A is 12 years and 6 months, including the following total periods:

- The period assigned to the Inspector rank (code 04.025) from July 1, 1993 to April 30, 2000 is 6 years and 10 months;

- The period assigned to the Auditor rank (code 06.043) from May 1, 2003 to December 31, 2008 is 5 years and 8 months.

Therefore, since January 1, 2009, Mr. A is entitled to a 12% seniority allowance. Currently, Mr. A holds the position of Deputy Director, with a salary grade of 8 and a coefficient of 4.65 for the Auditor rank (code 06.043), and receives a leadership position allowance coefficient of 0.40.

The amount of the seniority allowance for Mr. A is calculated as follows: The amount of the seniority allowance from January to April 2009 (the general minimum wage is 540,000 VND/month) is: (4.65 + 0.40) x 540,000 x 12% = 327,240 VND/month.

The amount of the seniority allowance from May 2009 (the general minimum wage is 650,000 VND/month) is (4.65 + 0.40) x 650,000 x 12% = 393,900 VND/month.

2. Periods not eligible for seniority allowance include:

a) Probationary period;

b) Period under the provisional civil servant system;

c) Period working in positions outside those specified in Article 1 of this Circular;

d) Period working in the military, police, and cryptographic services that are not eligible for seniority allowance;

đ) Period of personal leave without pay for one month or more continuously;

e) Period of sick leave or maternity leave exceeding the limit prescribed by law on social insurance;

g) Period of suspension of duties or detention pending investigation, prosecution, or trial.

Article 4. Method of payment for seniority allowances and sources of funding

1. Seniority allowances shall be paid together with monthly salaries and shall be included in the calculation of social insurance and health insurance contributions.

2. The funding for implementing the seniority allowance system (including social insurance and health insurance contributions) shall be covered by the state budget according to the current budget classification within the annual budget allocation assigned to agencies and units.

In 2009, Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, provinces, and centrally-administered cities shall submit documents to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and reporting.

Article 5. Effectiveness and Responsibility for Implementation

1. This Circular takes effect forty-five (45) days from the date of issuance.

2. The seniority allowance system stipulated in this Circular shall take effect from January 1, 2009.

Officials and civil servants who were classified under court, prosecution, audit, inspection, civil enforcement, and forest protection positions and retired on or before December 31, 2008, are not subject to this Circular.

3. Agencies authorized to manage officials and civil servants shall be responsible for:

a) Determining the level of seniority allowance based on the working period recorded in the officials' and civil servants' files in accordance with the provisions of this Circular;

b) Processing back payments of seniority allowances for officials and civil servants listed in the payroll starting from January 1, 2009;

c) Coordinating with social insurance agencies to implement additional contributions for social insurance and health insurance regarding seniority allowances and adjust the retirement pensions for officials and civil servants who retired between January 1, 2009, and the date this Circular takes effect.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, ministries, sectors, and localities shall report to the Ministry of Home Affairs for coordination with the Ministry of Finance to study and resolve them./.