Peñíscola definitively approves the horizontal professional career path for its staff

The Plenary of the Peñíscola City Council definitively approved the Regulations governing the horizontal professional career and performance evaluation of the personnel serving the council, in a session held on September 24, 2026. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Castellón no. 118, of October 1, 2026, under reference 04288-2026-U. The regulation sets December 31, 2025, as the reference date for the calculation of seniority and the assessment of merits for the initial placement.

The text had been previously published in BOP no. 72, of June 16, 2026, and the definitive approval incorporates the modification of the First Transitional Provision, dedicated to the recognition of the initial placement. The Regulations will enter into force for regulatory purposes as provided for in article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, and for economic purposes as of January 1, 2026. The announcement was signed in Peñíscola on September 30, 2026, by the mayor-president, Andrés Martínez Castellá.

Requirements and merits for initial placement

The initial placement process in the horizontal professional career system will be carried out only once and will affect personnel in active service who meet the requirements upon the regulation’s entry into force. To determine the initial Professional Development Grade (GDP), December 31, 2025, is taken as the reference date, such that all merits and service times must have been completed before that date.

In addition to the recognized seniority in groups or subgroups of equal professional classification, personnel must prove one of these merits:

• Intermediate level certificate of Valencian language knowledge issued or approved by the Valencian Language Knowledge Qualifying Board.
• Access through internal promotion or employment plans to a higher qualification group in the previous ten years.
• Training and improvement in courses approved by any official center or body, with these equivalencies: A1, 50 hours; A2, 40; B, 40; C1, 30; C2, 20; AP, 15.
• Teaching in official training courses, with the same equivalencies per subgroup.
• Community language degree of level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference, in accordance with Decree 61/2013, of May 17, of the Consell.
• Publications on Public Administration with legal deposit, competitive research projects, and presentations at scientific congresses.
• Higher academic degree or a second degree equal to that required for access to the group or subgroup.

Professional development grades and economic effects

The receipt of the administrative career supplement is linked to years of seniority, with four grades:

• GDP I: 5 years.
• GDP II: 10 years.
• GDP III: 16 years.
• GDP IV: 22 years.

Service time provided in positions of the same group or subgroup is computed both in the Peñíscola City Council and in other public administrations; time in different groups is computed proportionally in accordance with Article 8 of the Regulations. Those who have the seniority but do not prove merits may request the supplement with provisional recognition of the GDP, without economic effects, and will have one year to prove the merits.

Calendar and processing

The procedure will be initiated by a Mayoral Resolution, which must be issued within a maximum period of one month from the entry into force of the Regulations and published in the Official Provincial Gazette. Personnel will have one month from that publication to submit an application through the Entry Registry with a responsible declaration. The City Council may request corrections within 10 days and, within a maximum period of two months from the application deadline, will issue a single Mayoral Resolution for initial placement.

The recognition will have economic effects from January 1, 2026, and will not generate retroactive effects prior to that date. Personnel in a status other than active service may apply in the month following their reinstatement.

Impact

The final approval provides the Peñíscola City Council with a stable framework to organize the professional progression of its staff and reward seniority and proven merits. The initial placement, with reference to December 31, 2025, and economic effects from January 1, 2026, affects all personnel in active service and opens a specific calendar of applications and resolutions that municipal employees must follow to consolidate their grade.

Source: Official Provincial Gazette of Castellón, no. 118, of October 1, 2026, Local Administration (official reference: 04288-2026-U).