Linda Lai Swee Lin v Public Service Commission

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: MPH Rubin J
• Judgment Date: 07 August 2000
• Neutral Citation: [2000] SGHC 162
• Published date: 13 March 2013
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Plaintiff Counsel: Harpreet Singh Nehal and Rama S Tiwari (Drew & Napier)
• Defendant Counsel: Jeffrey Chan Wah Teck and Hema Subramaniam (Attorney-General's Chambers)

JUDGMENT:

Grounds of Decision

1 The applicant, Linda Lai Swee Lin (‘Linda’) an aggrieved former Government employee applied to court under O 53 of the Rules of Court for leave to make an application for four separate judicial review orders. These were:

i a writ of certiorari to quash the decision which was conveyed to her on 19 August 1998 extending her probationary period as a Senior Officer Grade III (Law);

ii a writ of certiorari to quash the decision of Senior Personnel Board F which was conveyed to her on 17 December 1998 terminating her service as a Senior Officer Grade III;

iii a writ of certiorari to quash the decision of Public Services Commission (PSC) which was conveyed to her on 21 July 1999 refusing her appeal against the above decision; and

iv an Order of mandamus reinstating her as a confirmed Public Officer, Senior Officer Grade III as of 28 November 1997.

2 The facts of the case as gathered from the statement filed by the applicant can be summarised as follows.

3 The applicant, an Asean scholar who graduated with a law degree from the University of Malaya in 1979 and a post-graduate Master of Laws from the National University of Singapore in 1993, applied for a position of Senior Officer with the Ministry of Law on 28 August 1996 and was offered this post.

4 The applicant’s letter of appointment contained many terms and conditions including one which declared that her tenure of office was ‘permanent’ and her appointment was that of ‘Senior Officer Grade III (Law) w.e.f. the date of assumption of duty’. It also stated that the "Period of Probation [was] 1 yr w.e.f. the date of assumption of duty". Amongst the other terms and conditions stipulated, the following two conditions require reproduction:

"2. During the whole period of your service, you will be governed by instructions, however styled, that are in force or may be made.

4. Your appointment is in accordance with your Scheme of Service."

[Emphasis added.]

5 The Civil Service Instruction Manual ("IM") which contained instructions to all civil servants was made applicable to the applicant by Condition 2 of her terms of appointment and it includes the following segments:

Probation, Confirmation And Placement On The Pensionable Establishment

(Section B)

B.20 During the probationary or trial period, an officer has:

(a) to prove he is suitable to be a permanent officer in the Service; and

(b) to pass all the probationary examinations set out in his Scheme of Service or Approved Departmental Practice (see paragraph C2).

If an officer receives an adverse report after 6 months’ service, his Permanent Secretary has to inform him verbally of his shortcomings and, where necessary, give him all possible help to overcome them. If the shortcomings persist in the next 6 months, they have to be made known to the officer, in writing. If the Permanent Secretary has doubts about the suitability of the officer, or feels that the officer’s progress has not been of a high enough standard for him to be confirmed, the Permanent Secretary has to consider:

(c) extending his service for a further 6 months or a year; and

(d) stopping or deferring his increment at the same time.

If it is unlikely that the officer will qualify for confirmation at the end of the extended period, the Permanent Secretary will consider:

(e) terminating the officer’s service under paragraph P25; or

(f) reverting him (putting him back) to his previous grade under paragraphs B115 and B116.

In either case, the Permanent Secretary, if he is not the Appointing Authority, has to refer the case to the Appointing Authority at least 2 months before the end of the officer’s probationary or trial period. The Appointing Authority will then submit the case to the Public Service Commission together with a recommendation to terminate the officer’s service, or revert him (put him back) to his previous grade, as the case may be.

Extension Of Normal Period Of Probation Or Trial

40(1) From 1 April 1983, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Department who are substantive Superscale officers have been delegated the authority to extend the probationary periods of all Divisions 1, II, III and IV officers, except Administrative Officers in Division I.

(2) Probationary or trial periods may be extended in certain circumstances and under certain conditions. An extension may lead to the officer having his increments withheld, stopped or deferred with loss of seniority. The different circumstances, conditions and effects of extending a probationary or trial period are set out under the headings:

(a) long absences;

(b) doubtful suitability or not enough progress;

(c) inability to pass examinations.

…

Doubtful Suitability Or Not Enough Progress

42 A Permanent Secretary must make sure that Staff Confidential Reports are put up every 6 months on all probationary officers in Division 1, II and III under his charge. (Staff Confidential Reports on Division IV officers will be submitted at the time of their confirmation). If Staff Confidential Reports contain adverse remarks or if an officer is not making enough progress in his work, the Permanent Secretary has to follow the instructions in paragraph 20.

43 If under paragraph B20, a report on a probationary officer is referred to an Appointing Authority, and he agrees with the recommendation of the Permanent Secretary or Head of Department concerned that the officer’s probationary period should be extended, he will use the authority delegated to him in paragraph B4 to extend the officer’s probationary period. But if the officer is an Administrative Officer, his case will be referred to the Public Service Commission for a decision.

…

Confirmation

65 Under Article 110(1) of the Constitution of Singapore, the Public Service Commission has the power to confirm an officer on probation or trial. The Public Service Commission has kept its power to confirm Administrative Officers in the Singapore Administrative Service. But it has delegated to Permanent Secretaries and Superscale officers who hold the post of Head of Department its power to confirm all officers in Division I (except Administrative Officers) and all officers in Divisions II to IV (see paragraph B4).

…

66 When the Delegated Authority described in paragraphs B4 and B65 considers whether to confirm a probationary officer, he must allow enough time to inform the officer of the decision on or before the date of his probationary period ends."

Reports On Staff

(Section D)

2 Staff Confidential Reports serve the following purposes:

(a) make sure that notice is taken of a particularly promising officer or one whose work and conduct are unsatisfactory;

(b) provide progressive information on an officer to help plan his career development.

3 An officer may receive an adverse report (this is defined in paragraph D5), or one that mentions his faults and shortcomings. If this officer is still on probation, his Reporting or Countersigning Officer must tell him the faults or shortcomings cited in the Report (see paragraph D96). If he is already a confirmed officer, he must be told about his faults or shortcomings if he can correct them (see paragraph D97). In addition, the Reporting or Countersigning Officer must consider whether there is any need to take corrective action. This may include, among other things, any of the following:

(a) giving special supervision and guidance to the officer;

(b) arranging for formal training or retraining for him;

(c) arranging for a change of duties or a change of environment for him;

(d) taking action to withhold, stop or defer his increment (see Section G), or taking other disciplinary action.

4 If an officer receives an outstanding report, the Countersigning Officer must consider, among other things, whether the officer should be:

(a) given advanced training to fit him in the next higher grade;

(b) recommended to do the work of the next higher grade; and/or

(c) assigned to train others.

5 In this Section, an "adverse report" is one in which the assessment of an officer’s work performance falls below the third rating in the section of the Staff Confidential Report form headed "Overall Grading".

6 Appendix B5 of the IM specified that the effective date of confirmation would be the date immediately following the date on which the normal period of probation would end.

The applicant’s probation

7 The applicant commenced her appointment on 28 November 1996 and in the normal course would have completed her probation on 27 November 1997. She was, when she first started her appointment, designated Head (Legal) reporting to the Deputy Commissioner of Land, Mr Liew Choon Boon ("DCOL"). On or about 30 June 1997, about 7 months after she commenced her probation, she was requested by the DCOL to take on added responsibilities.

8 In the course of her duties, the applicant oversaw the operations of the Lease Administration Section in carrying out title management work, in particular, lifting of title restriction, upgrading of lease tenure and enforcement of the covenants.

9 Under the IM, a confidential staff report was required every six months during the probationary period of all public servants The applicant was given such a staff confidential report form to be completed and passed on to her immediate superior (DCOL) for the two six-month period during her probation. IM No. 2 B.42 provided that if an officer were to receive an adverse report within the first six months, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry should verbally inform the officer of his or her shortcomings. If these shortcomings were to persist in the next six months, the officer was to be informed in writing.

10 The applicant never received, at any time during her probationary period, any adverse report nor was she informed verbally or in writing of any shortcomings or that she was not performing up to expectation.

11 At the end of the...