THE authority to take disciplinary action against junior civil servants has been delegated to department heads under a plan to streamline human resource management in the Government.
At present all disciplinary action - except that against police constables and low-ranking disciplinary officers - must be approved by the Civil Service Branch before being submitted to the Public Service Commission for advice.
This action includes reprimands, severe reprimands, reductions in rank, fines, compulsory retirements and dismissals.
Under the revised scheme, department heads have been given the authority to make recommendations on all action, except compulsory dismissal, directly to the Public Service Commission against staff at Master Pay Scale 14 ($12,940 a month) or below.
The Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service, Michael Stone, said the exercise was part of a process to update regulations.
He said cases usually took months to deal with, which was not in the best interest of the officers or the Government.
''One of the principles of natural justice is you get punished for your misdeeds as quickly as possible, rather than waiting for years and having the threats hanging over you all the time,'' Mr Stone said.