The Civil Service Commission came into existence in 1962, on the passing of the Isle of Man Civil Service Act 1962. This act created a unified civil service out of all full-time administrative, professional and technical officers employed by a board of Tynwald or a Government Department. The Civil Service Commission was given the responsibility of making appointments, transfers and promotions throughout this new Civil Service. Initially, secretarial support for the Commission was provided by staff from Government Office.
The Civil Service Act 1990 formalised the role of the Commission.
Functions of the Commission:
- recruitment, appointment and training of civil servants;
- set salary scales, terms and conditions of employment;
- overview and provision for the welfare of civil servants.
The Civil Service Act 1990 also set out rules regulating its membership, including:
- the Commission should include a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, who would be members of Tynwald;
- the Commission should include up to three other members, who should not be members of Tynwald;
- all members of the Commission are appointed by the Chief Minister;
- members of the Civil Service are not eligible to serve as members of the Commission.
The Civil Service Commission was wound up by the Public Services Bill 2015, which made provisions for its functions to be combined with that of the Whitley Council and reconstituted as the Public Services Commission. At the time of its dissolution in Sep 2015, the Civil Service Commission was administered by the Industrial Relations and Policy Section of the Office of Human Resources, that sits within the Isle of Man Cabinet Office.