Prime Minister Najib Mikati chaired a meeting at the Grand Serail with the Minister of Finance in the caretaker government, Youssef Khalil, and the Minister of State for Administrative Development, Najla Riachi. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mikati issued a circular indicating that "in light of the decision of the Cabinet No. 1 dated 28/2/2024, particularly item three related to granting compensation for perseverance to public administration employees who fulfill the complete official attendance, the terms and criteria for this compensation will be determined by the Chairwoman of the Civil Service Council in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Lebanon. This is in view of the letter from the Chairwoman of the Civil Service Council No. 47/ص1 dated 8/3/2024, and based on the necessity of restoring the regular functioning of public utilities, increasing productivity, and ensuring revenue for the public treasury through the commitment of human resources to attendance during official working hours to improve the level of public services."
All public administrations are requested to adopt the terms, criteria, and procedures outlined below in granting their employees perseverance compensation:
**First: Conditions and Criteria for Granting Perseverance Compensation**
1. A monthly report must be prepared by the director general or the head of the unit directly linked to the minister, detailing attendance for the previous month, an assessment of the work's progress within the administration, and how this compensation reflects on enhancing productivity. This report should include the main tasks completed by the units under his supervision. The first report, which should be submitted upon implementing this circular, must outline the number of pending transactions with a projection for the timeframe required to complete these transactions, along with identifying obstacles that may hinder their implementation, to be presented to the Cabinet for solutions in line with the government's vision for revitalizing public service. Subsequent reports should evaluate the progress of administrations and administrative units in performing their tasks and propose solutions to address any shortcomings or difficulties in executing these tasks. A copy of these reports should be sent to both the Civil Service Council and the Central Inspection for them to perform their related duties.
2. Commitment to full official attendance during the working hours specified in Article 33 of Law No. 46 dated 21/8/2017 related to official working hours, and full compliance with attendance obligations and the mechanisms established for each administration. Absence from work is only allowed with a legal document permitting it. However, employees may benefit from legal absence cases during which they are entitled to their monthly salary or compensation, provided that such absences do not exceed five days in a month, and the official attendance does not fall below 16 days per month (excluding absences due to sick, administrative, or family leave). Exemptions apply to cases involving cancer or debilitating diseases, determined by a reasoned decision issued by the concerned minister, with a copy sent to the Ministry of Finance, the Civil Service Council, and the Central Inspection. It is noted that any unexcused absence, even for one day within the month, leads to the forfeiture of the right to receive perseverance compensation for that same month.
3. Verification of employees' attendance during the specified official working hours in Article 33 of Law No. 46/2017 according to the mechanisms described in Article five of Decree No. 13020 dated 28/2/2024, arranging the results accordingly concerning the entitlement to temporary compensation and the other compensations specified in Article one of the aforementioned decree, as well as to perseverance compensation.
**Second: Procedures for Granting Perseverance Compensation**
Perseverance compensation will be granted monthly to its beneficiaries from the allocations set aside for this purpose in the budget.
**Third: Value of Perseverance Compensation**
The value of perseverance compensation for employees in public administrations is set as follows for each category:
• 15 million Lebanese pounds for grade five employees and workers providing technical services.
• 17 million Lebanese pounds for grade four employees.
• 19 million Lebanese pounds for grade three employees.
• 22 million Lebanese pounds for grade two employees.
• 25 million Lebanese pounds for grade one employees.
**Fourth:** The employee's category appointed therein will be taken into account for determining both the perseverance compensation and the other monthly compensation specified in item 2 of Article one of Decree No. 13020 dated 28/2/2024, related to permanent employees and the contractual task levels defined in contractors' contracts.
**Fifth:** The responsibility of direct and sequential heads and general directors in applying the laws and regulations, ensuring adherence to the conditions and criteria for entitlement to perseverance compensation, and taking the necessary measures in this regard, is emphasized.
**Sixth:** Administrations, according to a program prepared by the director general or the head of the unit directly linked to the minister, are obliged to monitor all units through sequential heads to verify employees' presence in their workplaces and their performance of assigned tasks, by conducting field visits at least twice a month.
