Steps to improve salary fund management quality planned in Armenia 

ArmInfo. Steps will be taken in Armenia to improve the quality of salary fund management. At its  session on November 11, the RA National Assembly Committee on State and Legal Affairs issued a positive conclusion on the amendments to the law "On remuneration of persons holding state and civil service  positions" submitted by the country's government. 

According to Vache Kalashyan, Head of the Civil Service Bureau of the  RA Prime Minister's Office, the need to adopt the bill stems from  Armenia's international obligations, including the accepted proposals  of the International Monetary Fund and the solution of problems  related to social guarantees.

In general, the presented document is aimed at increasing the  attractiveness of the civil service. In particular, it is envisaged  to pay employees additional one-time vacation pay once per calendar  year. This measure, as the speaker noted, is due to the fact that  two-time payment of vacation pay leads to an additional burden on the  state budget. If an employee does not use his vacation, then either  he will receive vacation pay for the calendar year at the end of the  year, or they will be carried over to the next year. 

This, according to Kalashyan, will improve the predictability of  budget expenditures. When leaving a position immediately after  receiving vacation pay, the entire amount provided for vacation is  returned to the state budget. When moving from one place of work to  another, and later when returning to the previous job, the high  salary of an employee of the state and civil service will be  preserved. Another change concerns civil servants and technical staff  of the Constitutional Court, the National Assembly, the President's  Office and the Prime Minister's Office, whose basic salary should not  exceed 6%, and the average vacation pay should not exceed 3.5%. The  proposed amendments will apply to relationships after January 1,  2025.