Lithuania proposes ending age limit for civil servants

Lithuania’s Interior Ministry has proposed removing the 65-year age limit for civil servants, allowing them to combine roles and increasing mayors’ pay coefficients, LRT reported. The ministry has submitted amendments to the Civil Service Law to the government, saying they are intended to make public service more attractive and help institutions recruit and retain skilled staff.

The proposal would allow civil servants to remain in their posts after age 65. The ministry said it had taken account of an ageing population and an ageing civil service.

The amendments would also let civil servants hold another civil service position in the same or a different institution, or work under an employment contract. They could also spend part of their working time in a civil service role at another institution. People who leave the service would be able to restore their civil servant status and return without a competition within five years.

If approved, the change would give people who left the career civil service after the 2024 reform a route back. Experienced statutory officers, diplomats, intelligence officers and professional military service members could also be transferred to civil servant positions; such transfers are currently allowed only temporarily.

The ministry has proposed restoring a seniority allowance for up to 30 years of service and giving institution heads more flexibility over pay. It also wants to raise mayors’ salary coefficients, saying their pay is not competitive in the labour market.

The proposed social guarantees include retaining a civil servant’s position and salary while they attend a work assignment, court, a medical institution or a funeral, or train other public-sector employees. The amendments would provide two months’ pay to civil servants who resign upon reaching retirement age and to institution heads whose terms end. They would also restore the right to take up to one year of unpaid leave and allow institutions to offer additional incentives worth up to one monthly minimum wage.

The bill would end centralised recruitment of specialists by the Public Management Agency. Institutions would run their own competitions for specialist roles, while the agency would continue selecting institution heads centrally.

Tags: Lithuania, civil service, government