Andorran Court Annuls Workplace Reclassifications Over Government Procedural Flaws

A recent ruling by the Batllia has exposed significant flaws in the Andorran government's handling of the 2023-2024 workplace reclassification process for general administration roles, overseen by the Public Function department.

The court annulled the classification decision for a civil servant who challenged it, ordering the administration to restart the procedure in line with legal requirements and due process guarantees. The judgment, which the government has not appealed, criticises the executive for approving the reclassifications without key information, including detailed valuation reports and scoring criteria from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the consultancy hired for the task.

Judges questioned the validity of PwC's STRATA methodology, which the government still endorses, noting that officials admitted not fully understanding its criteria or detailed scores at the time of decision-making. The ruling states that the government lacked even basic access to elements of the process it had commissioned, raising concerns over inadequate oversight of an exercise affecting civil servants' rights and duties.

The Batllia faulted the administration for multiple procedural lapses. It highlighted the failure to involve the mandatory Technical and Organisation Committee, whose consultative role is required by law despite not being binding. The court rejected the government's claim that the committee was unnecessary, pointing out that regulations—yet to be updated—also call for union representatives on it. Substituting the committee with PwC rendered the resolutions null due to breach of legal procedure and omission of essential steps.

Further, the judgment condemned PwC for overstepping into core public administration functions, such as valuations and decisions, rather than merely advising. Formal government signatures on PwC-prepared outcomes did not validate the process, the court ruled. Officials also denied civil servants requested details on their assessments, citing consultancy "secrets," while later commissioning extra PwC reports post-lawsuit to justify decisions—reports absent from the original contract.

The decision undermines prior statements by government spokesperson Guillem Casal, who suggested re-running the flawed procedure would yield the same results. It comes as a new regulation on reclassifications is drafted, yet omits the valuation criteria flagged by the court. The ruling, over 20 pages long, emphasises that decisions must be fully motivated under the Administrative Code, allowing verification—something absent here, as the government could not explain why some promotions were granted and others denied.