Business Appointment Rules

The Civil Service Commission provides independent advice on applications under the government’s Business Appointment Rules (BARs) for civil servants at SCS Pay Band 3 and SCS Pay Band 4 and special advisers at Pay Band 4. 

Guidance and instructions for applicants are set out on gov.uk. The Civil Service Commission can be contacted at bars@csc.gov.uk.

Useful documents:

• The BARs application process, including the role of the Civil Service Commission
• A glossary of terms and points which apply to all advice issued by the Commission (November 2025, 2 pages, 115KB)

Decisions by the Civil Service Commission

Applications submitted to the Civil Service Commission are considered by a panel drawn from our team of independent Civil Service Commissioners. The current Panel is Gisela Stuart, First Civil Service Commissioner, and Commissioners Christopher Pilgrim, Elizabeth Hambley and Elizabeth Walmsley. 

Useful documents:

• Civil Service Commissioner biographies
• Register of Interests

In the event of a conflict of interest, a Panel member may decide to withdraw from a decision on an application, or the Panel may decide that the member should withdraw. This would be recorded in the issued advice.