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The "service" of civil servant generally refers to matters including their standing, status, identity, rights, duties, responsibilities, standpoints, attitudes, discipline, and ethics during their public service period. Most regulations governing the service of civil servants are currently specified in the Civil Servant Work Act. Other regulations governing the service of civil servants include the Oath Act, Public Servant Property Reporting Act, Public Servant Conflict of Interest Avoidance Act, and the Civil Servant Responsibility Entrustment Act.

The Civil Servant Work Act contains a total of 29 articles dealing with the duties and expected behavior of civil servants; it is very similar in nature to the administrative ethics laws enacted in many Western countries. The Civil Servant Work Act applies to all pay-receiving civil and military public servants and employees of state-run enterprise units; the Act's chief duty regulations include duty to perform work, duty to obey orders, duty to serve faithfully, duty to maintain secrets, duty to maintain deportment, and duty to not engage in certain actions.

Civil servant attendance and leave matters shall be managed in accordance with the Civil Servant Leave Regulations," chiefly in accordance with the following regulations:

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The employment of civil servants in the ROC is implemented chiefly in accordance with the Civil Service Employment Act and its related regulations. In accordance with the Civil Service Employment Act, civil servants shall be hired on the basis of their rank, grade, and series, and shall pass examination in accordance with law; the qualifications of hired personnel shall be submitted to the Ministry of Civil Service for qualification screening and review within three months after the agency has sent a representative. Personnel who have passed examination shall receive a rank and series qualifications for the appropriate group of positions in accordance with their examination grade and subject. In-service personnel may be promoted to a higher grade in accordance with their performance evaluation results, and may be promoted to a higher rank after passing a promotion examination or successfully undergoing training. Personnel of grade 12 and above may transfer to another series, and other personnel may transfer to any series in the same group of positions, or may transfer to other groups or series in accordance with their specialty. Government agencies shall not hire persons who are not citizens of this country, who possess dual nationality, or who have committed embezzlement, etc.

Apart from those civil servants hired in accordance with the Civil Service Employment Act as specified above, other personnel may be hired in accordance with applicable laws governing special types of personnel. Such types of personnel include judicial, audit, accounting, customs affairs, diplomatic consul, police, educational, medical, transportation service, contract-based personnel, and special professional and technical personnel who transferred after passing the junior or senior civil service examination. Except in the case of educational, medical, transportation service, state-run enterprise, and contract-based personnel, the regulations of the Civil Service Employment Act shall, in principle, govern the hiring and rank and grade structure of such personnel. However, special regulations may apply in some circumstances. For instance, police personnel have its specific ranks of elementary, junior, and senior, each of which is divided into first, second, third, and fourth grade, where the first grade is the highest level. Police personnel of junior rank (level 3 and above) must be graduates or passing trainees of Central Police University or a police academy, therefore their hiring are quite different from that of general civil servants.

The Civil Service Pay Act and its related regulations govern the pay of civil servants in the ROC. The pay of civil servants is classified as either base pay (annual merit pay) or additional pay, both of which are calculated by the month. Base pay and annual merit pay are the basic pay for civil servants; personnel are classified in different pay rates according to rank and grade as a basis for step-wise adjustments. Additional pay is classified as duty additional pay, technical or professional additional pay, and regional additional pay. Additional pay is provided on top of base pay for civil servants serving as managers, performing arduous or hazardous duties, engaging in technical or professional work, or serving in remote or special areas or overseas.

Determination of the pay rate of civil servants encompasses the five situations of determining the starting pay of personnel passing the civil servants examination or rank promotion examination; determining the pay of personnel who are promoted one grade in the same rank or who are promoted one rank; determination of the pay of transferred personnel (including the three situations of level transfer, upward transfer, and downward transfer); determination of the pay of public school educational personnel and state-run enterprise personnel transferring to positions at an administrative agency; and determination of the pay of qualified personnel who resign and are rehired.

In accordance with the Civil Service Pay Act, step-wise increases in civil servants base pay and annual merit pay shall be based on performance evaluation results obtained in accordance with the Civil Service Performance Evaluation Act. The grade of persons whose qualifications have been approved may not be reduced except in accordance with the regulations of the Civil Service Pay Act, the Civil Service Discipline Act, or other law. In addition, the number of years of service of those civil servants who previously served in a post similar in nature to and with a grade equivalent to their current post, and who demonstrated superior performance shall be taken into consideration when increasing their pay rates.

In accordance with the Civil Service Performance Evaluation Act, year-end performance evaluations shall be based on routine evaluations, and routine evaluations shall rate personnel on the basis of the four aspects of work, conduct, academic attainment, and ability. Year-end performance evaluations shall rate personnel among the four classes of A, B, C, and D. The Civil Service Performance Evaluation Act and its enforcement rules explicitly state the specific conditions needed to be rated as class A or class D. The base pay (or annual merit pay) of persons who are rated class A in year-end performance evaluations shall be raised one grade, and such persons shall be granted a one-time award equivalent to one month's total pay; such persons whose annual merit pay has reached the highest pay rate shall be granted a one-time award equivalent to two months' total pay. The base pay (or annual merit pay) of persons who are rated class B in year-end performance evaluations shall be raised one grade, such persons shall be granted a one-time award equivalent to one half month's total pay; such persons whose annual merit pay has reached the highest pay rate shall be granted a one-time award equivalent to one month's total pay. Persons who are rated class C shall retain their original pay rate. Persons who are rated class D shall be dismissed.

A special performance evaluation may be implemented whenever civil servants are responsible for major merits or demerits. The base pay (or annual merit pay) of a person responsible for two major merits on one occasion shall be raised by one grade, and that persons shall be granted a bonus equivalent to one month's total pay. A person responsible for two major demerits on one occasion shall be dismissed. Those personnel who are rated class D in a year-end performance evaluation or who are to be disciplined by dismissal following a special performance evaluation may submit an appeal to the Civil Service Protection and Training Commission if they contest the decision.

Rewards/punishments and evaluations are important management methods, and the two must be tightly linked. Evaluation results must be subject to rewards or punishments. Rewards and punishments would have no basis without evaluations, and evaluations would have no tangible effect without rewards and punishments. In other words, evaluations determine rewards and punishments, and rewards and punishments realize the function of evaluations. The following is an overview of rewards and punishments:

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In accordance with the Civil Service Promotion Act, the promotion of civil servants shall take into consideration agency characteristics and its service needs, strive for a good match between individuals and their work, place balanced emphasis on ability and achievement, reflect the principles of promotion from within and recruiting from outside, employ transparent, just, and impartial methods, and cultivate and advance manpower by promotion of outstanding individuals or transfer to give opportunities for learning and experience.

Open civil service positions shall be filled via a balanced mixture of promotion from within and recruiting from outside. Screening procedures must be implemented if personnel are promoted from within an agency. An open selection process must be conducted if personnel are recruited from other agencies. With regard to procedures, the agency head shall first decide whether to promote from within or recruit externally when an agency is implementing promotions. A promotion sequence table shall be compiled in accordance with service needs and the level of positions, and promotions shall be implemented for successive levels. To maintain the balanced emphasis on ability and achievement, the competent Yuan shall determine promotion rating standards as a basis for rating personnel. When an open position is to be filled from outside, the agency shall first announce information concerning the vacancy in a newspaper or periodical or on the Internet, and may specify the qualifications needed by personnel participating in the open selection process in accordance with work characteristics and service needs.

Agency personnel units shall compile a list of personnel qualified to be promoted or transferred to the open position, and, in view of the circumstances, shall list the personnel in accordance with their rating scores or qualifications. This list shall be submitted to the agency head and forwarded to the screening committee for review, after which the agency head shall mark within the three top individuals for promotion or transfer; twice the number of persons to be promoted or transferred shall be marked within if two or more persons are to be promoted or transferred. The screening committee shall be established by the agency and shall consist of five to 21 persons. The screening committee shall also bear responsibility for promotion screening tasks. The screening committee shall be composed of designated members assigned by the agency head and elected members chosen by ballot by agency personnel; there shall be one elected member for every three committee members.

Personnel with the rank of unit manager at a first-level agency or above may be promoted without screening after receiving the approval of the head of the agency or of its superior agency. Those civil servants who have been awarded a medal or commendation, have earned two major merits on one occasion, have been elected model civil servants, or have received the Civil Service Outstanding Contribution Award may be promoted with first priority without a selection process. In order to cultivate human resources, all agencies shall variously implement transfers of personnel between positions of equivalent grade and work duties in conjunction with service needs and the natures of the positions.

The Civil Service Retirement Act is applicable to full-time paid in-service civil servants hired in accordance with civil service hiring laws. Such personnel may apply for voluntary retirement if they have served for at least five years and are at least 60 years of age, or have served for at least 25 years. In addition, those personnel who have served for at least five years and are at least 65 years of age, or who have served for at least five years and are no longer fit for their position due to physical disability or mental impediment, may be ordered to retire. Furthermore, in order to accommodate the retirement needs of special positions, the Ministry of Civil Service may, at its discretion, reduce the retirement age of those persons serving in special positions that are hazardous and arduous. With regard to retirement payments, when a civil servant meets one of the foregoing retirement conditions, that person shall be given retirement payments according to one of the following methods:

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The government instituted a new pension system for civil servants starting on July 1, 1995. Under the new systems, the financial burden for pension formerly borne solely by the government has been taken up by a fund contributed by both the civil servants and the government. The new system has improved the raising of funds while also increasing civil servants' pension income. Furthermore, in accordance with law, all levels of government have continued to provide pensions based on years of service prior to June 30, 1995 from the government budget. Taiwan's social structure and economy have recently undergone rapid changes, however, and circumstances are significantly different from the time when the new pension system was implemented. As a result, there are a number of problems affecting the system that urgently await resolution. The Ministry of Civil Service will continue to review the implementation of the new system and make changes as needed, and will strive to establish a sound and reasonable pension system with a solid financial foundation. The Ministry of Civil Service hopes to institute a fully-functioning retirement system that will safeguard the long-term interests of retired civil servants.

The Civil Service Survivor Relief Act is applicable to in-service civil servants approved or registered by the Ministry of Civil Service in accordance with law. If such personnel "die of illness or accident" during their in-service period, or if they die due to "taking serious risks while discharging their duties or dying at their post on the battlefield," "encountering hazards while performing their duties," "encountering danger or contracting an illness while on an official assignment," or "suffering an accident in an office," their survivors shall receive a relief payment in all cases. Relief payments consist of the two types of lump-sum relief payments and combined lump-sum and annual relief payments. The amount of a relief payment is determined by years of service: The survivors of persons who have served less than 15 years shall receive a lump-sum relief payment, and shall not receive annual relief payments. The survivors of persons who have served at least 15 years shall receive both annual relief payments and lump-sum relief payments. A 25% lump-sum relief payment shall be added to relief to survivors of those persons who die discharging their official duties, and a 50% lump-sum relief payment shall be added to relief to survivors of those persons who die after taking serious risks while discharging their duties or die at their post on the battlefield.

Lump-sum relief payments shall be paid in one sum upon the death of a civil servant. Annual relief payments shall begin from the month after a civil servant's death, and shall be paid in one sum on July 16 of each year. Annual relief payments shall be adjusted in parallel with the base pay of in-service civil servants of the same grade. Annual relief payments shall be paid for ten years in the case of personnel who die of ordinary illness or accident, for 15 years in the case of personnel who die while discharging their official duties, and for 20 years in the case of personnel who die taking serious risks while discharging their duties or die at their post on the battlefield. Annual relief payments shall be paid for life if the survivor is the parent of an only child or a childless widow or widower. Annual relief payments shall continue until a child reaches the age of majority if the child was still a minor at the time the relief payment originally was set to expire. Furthermore, even if a child has reached the age of majority, annual relief payments shall continue until the child graduates from university if the child receives an uninterrupted in-school education.

Insurance functions in accordance with the principles of risk sharing and mutual assistance between generations; subsidies from an agency or school, together with payments made from its employees, are used to establish a fund; when an insured suffers a legally-specified insured accident, a benefit is paid to the insured out of the insurance fund. Insurance is a type of safeguard that protects employees' lives and enhances work efficiency.

In accordance with the Civil Servant and Teacher Insurance Act, the Ministry of Civil Service is the competent authority in charge of civil servants and teachers insurance, and the Central Trust of China is the underwriting organization. Civil servants at all central government agencies are to be enrolled in this insurance first, and civil servants at subordinate agencies of Taiwan Provincial Government are to be gradually enrolled at a later date.

The implementation of a civil servant insurance system has significantly improved health protection and stability of life for civil servants. Insureds eagerly hope that the government will expand the scope of this insurance system and the types of civil servants eligible to participate. Accordingly, the Ministry of Civil Service will, in line with government policy, gradually implement insurance for retired civil servants, insurance for private school teaching and administrative staff, health insurance for civil servants' dependents, health insurance for the dependents of private school teaching and administrative staff, and health insurance for retired civil servants and teachers and their dependents. The implementation of these types of insurance will safeguard civil servants and private school teaching and administrative staff after retirement, and ease the burden of medical expenses for their dependents.

The seven insurance items in the original Civil Service Insurance Act consisted of childbirth, illness, injury, disability, old age care, death, and dependents' funerals. Following the promulgation of the National Health Insurance Act on March 1, 1995, however, free medical coverage for childbirth, illness, and injury under civil servant insurance were brought within the scope of National Health Insurance, leaving civil servant insurance with only cash payments for disability, old age care, death, and dependents' funerals. Responding to the implementation of National Health Insurance and need to put the insurance system on a sound footing, the Ministry of Civil Service combined and revised the Civil Service Insurance Act and Private School Teaching and Administrative Staff Insurance Act as the Civil Servant and Teacher Insurance Act in order to improve insurance finance and trim insurance laws and regulations. The Civil Servant and Teacher Insurance Act was promulgated on May 29, 1999, and was subsequently revised in 2000 and again in 2005.

Personnel management consists of relevant measures intended to regulate the organizational systems, scope of duties, and personnel management employees of personnel management organizations (institutions). In other words, personnel management refers to the management tasks of personnel organizations (institutions) at administrative agencies, state-run enterprises, and public schools shall implement.

With regard to personnel management institutions, the Office of the President, the five Yuans, all ministries, and provincial (municipal) governments shall establish personnel management departments or offices in accordance with the Personnel Management Act; subordinate agencies and county and city governments shall establish personnel management offices or personnel management employees. The number of personnel management employees at personnel management institutions shall be set after due consideration in accordance with the agency's or school's designated number of employees.

With regard to the employment and dismissal of personnel management employees, in accordance with the Personnel Management Act, the Ministry of Civil Service is responsible for the appointment and dismissal of personnel management directors, and personnel management directors may request the Ministry of Civil Service to handle hiring and dismissal of assistant managerial personnel. Furthermore, the Central Personnel Administration, Executive Yuan shall approve employment, dismissal, and transfer decisions concerning all levels of personnel management employees under the Executive Yuan, and such decisions shall be submitted to the Ministry of Civil Service for subsequent reference. However, the employment, dismissal, and transfer of personnel management directors with grade 11 and above shall be handled in consultation with the Ministry of Civil Service.

The Ministry of Civil Service shall hold a national personnel management directors' conference once every two years. The representatives of personnel management organization (institutions) and other relevant personnel shall be invited to such conferences. In addition to lectures on specific topics given by scholars and experts, the conferences will allow discussion of various issues and proposals. Conference resolutions shall provide the Ministry of Civil Service major guidance in the drafting of personnel management policy and improvement of the civil service legal system.

The Ministry of Civil Service shall also hold a personnel management directors' work conference once every year. Ministry of Civil Service personnel in position of deputy director and above, representatives of personnel management agencies not under the Executive Yuan, and other relevant personnel shall be invited to such conferences. These conferences are intended to strengthen communication and coordination with personnel management directors at agencies mentioned above, and thereby improve the administrative performance of personnel management.

The Implementation Plan for Strengthening Personnel Management Work, which was determined by the Ministry of Civil Service on July 15, 1998, lays out seven key work items including utilization of manpower and strengthening of organizational structures. The Ministry of Civil Service hopes that the past view of personnel management work as passive control and prevention of abuses will give way more active service and growth, and also seeks to boost the qualifications of personnel management employees and improve service performance. In addition, the Ministry of Civil Service has revised the Personnel Management Act to better meet the needs of government re-engineering and administrative reform; the revised Personnel Management Act seeks to strengthen the professional and service functions of personnel management and encourage personnel management organizations to fulfill their professional staff functions and provide colleagues within the agency with the best service.

Article 14 of the Constitution states, "The people have the right of assembly and association." In view of the relationship civil servants have with the country, the Council of Grand Justices, Judicial Yuan has explained that "a special power relationship" has evolved into a "duty relationship under public law." In order to protect the rights granted to civil servants by the constitution, while considering that civil servants' implementation of their duties in accordance with law has an enormous influence on the country's governmental affairs and the public interest, the Ministry of Civil Service accordingly spent more than ten years drafting, coordinating, reviewing, and promoting legislation of the Civil Servant Association Act, which was finally promulgated by presidential order on July 10, 2002 and enforced from January 1, 2003. The enactment of the Civil Servant Association Act has ushered in a new era in human rights protection in Taiwan. Furthermore, in order to put the organizations and functions of civil servant associations on a sound footing, the Ministry of Civil Service revised certain articles of the Civil Servant Association Act, which was enforced from July 1, 2005.