The question raised concerns the effects on the extension of the termination if, at the date of termination, the official is enjoying a permit.

Firstly, the legal framework for implementation needs to be analysed. With regard to the provision of posts, and in accordance with the fourth final provision of Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015, of 30 October, approving the revised text of the Law on the Basic Status of Public Employees (TREBEP), the provisions in the matter contained in Law 30/1984, of 2 August, on Measures for the reform of the Civil Service and Royal Decree 364/1995, of 10 March, approving the General Regulations for the Admission of Personnel to the Service of the General State Administration and for the Provision of Civil Posts and Promotion of the Professional State

With regard to the taking up of the supply of jobs through competition, article 48 of the aforementioned Royal Decree 364/1995, of 10 March, states:

“1. The period for taking office will be three working days if it does not involve a change of residence of the official, or one month if it involves a change of residence or re-entry into active service. The period for taking office shall begin on the day following the day of the cessation, which shall take place within three working days following the publication of the resolution of the contest in the Official Gazette of the State.”

2. The Assistant Secretary of the Department where the staff member is serving may defer termination for service needs up to twenty working days by contacting the unit to which the staff member is assigned.

Exceptionally, on the proposal of the Department, due to the requirements of the normal functioning of the services, the Secretary of State for Public Administration may postpone the date of termination to a maximum of three months, including the extension provided for in the preceding paragraph. (…)

The question that arises is whether, in the event of an extension in the cessation for a period of three months, the day before the end of the said extension the official began to enjoy a permit.

Article 48.3 of the Entry and Provision Regulations provides that “The calculation of the postponed deadlines shall begin when the permits and licences granted to the interested parties expire unless for justified reasons the convening body agrees to suspend the enjoyment of them.”

The use of the plural in the expression “postponed periods” is indicative of the fact that the mandate contained in Article 48.3 of the said Regulation refers not only to the period of taking office, but also to the period of cessation, since the cessation in the previous post is as necessary as the taking office itself in the new post in order for the official to exercise the functions proper to the latter.

According to this interpretation of Article 48.3 of the Entry and Provision Regulation, there is no postponement in the cessation stricto sensu due to the enjoyment of the permit, but the production of the effects of the cessation is differentiated to a later time in order to fulfill the intended purpose of the permit.

From all of the foregoing, it can be concluded that the effects of the termination will have to be deferred until such time as the enjoyment of the permit by the interested party is terminated.

All of the above is without prejudice to remember that, according to the regime of competences of this management center, the answers to queries issued by this general directorate are merely informative and, consequently, do not have the character of a binding criterion, nor do they give rise to rights or expectations of law, nor do they imply any link with the type of procedures to which they refer. In addition, since they are not mandatory or binding, the bodies to which such replies are addressed may, where appropriate, finally take a decision that does not correspond to the opinion contained therein.

The answers to queries contained in this bulletin deal with the issues raised in the light of the regulations in force at the time of their issuance, so that these answers may be affected by subsequent legislative changes or judicial resolutions.