Assembly adopts changes: two consecutive "1 – does not meet" ratings can lead to dismissal

The Assembly approved amendments to the Law on Administrative Officials on 19 October 2026 that make two consecutive annual evaluations of "1 – does not meet" a legal ground for termination of employment for administrative staff.

Key changes: evaluation, promotion and disciplinary rules

The changes, adopted under an expedited procedure, introduce stricter rules on performance assessment and remove the possibility of promotion without a previously published internal vacancy. Lawmakers say the aim is to ensure equal access to advancement and to strengthen merit-based procedures across the public administration, including staff in the Assembly and regulatory bodies.

Under the new provisions, an administrative official who is rated "1 – does not meet" for two consecutive years may have their employment ended by operation of law. The amendments also tighten regulations on disciplinary and material responsibility and promise more economical handling of procedures, while preserving the right to appeal.

The application of Article 80, which governs a monetary award for exceptional engagement, has been postponed until 1 January 2028. Parliamentary drafters say the wider package is intended to make administration more efficient, transparent and professional.

Opposition SDSM did not support the changes and raised concerns that some provisions create mechanisms for disciplining administration, including the Assembly's staff. SDSM parliamentary group coordinator Oliver Spasovski said: "Everything is being done in a veiled form to achieve some objectives."

By contrast, VMRO-DPMNE argued the amendments correct long-standing omissions. VMRO-DPMNE parliamentary coordinator Nikola Micevski said the law addresses issues that were not fixed between 2019 and 2024 and told the opposition: "You could have praised one thing, said it's good, that one thing has been corrected." The debate also touched on the idea of an independent security service in the Assembly.

Parallel to the legal changes, the Ministry of Public Administration is advancing plans to professionalize the civil service through an Academy for professional development and training of administrative officials. Minister Goran Minchev stressed that legal rules alone are not enough: "A professional, efficient and responsible public administration is built by people who have the knowledge, competencies and capacity to respond to citizens' needs." He added: "A professional administration is not built only by new rules, but by people who have the knowledge, integrity and capacity to apply those rules. That is why we see the Academy as a permanent mechanism for professional development, not as a time-limited project."

The Ministry says the Academy is being institutionally set up, its organisational model and training programmes are being developed, and the Academy is expected to start operating at the beginning of 2027.

Photo: press material from the event