Kto riadi úrady práce? Politizácia na úrovni riadiacich pozícií v podriadených organizáciách.

The politicization of senior civil servants is currently predominantly studied at the level of ministries, while at the agency level this topic is being overlooked. Aiming to fill the research gap, this research focuses on the politicization of senior civil servants at agency level, examining it on a case study of directors of labour offices who came into the office during the period from 2010 to 2020. The present article is a unique case study of politicization of senior civil servants, whose way of recruitment changed over time (between meritocratic recruitment and political appointments). The main objective of the research is to determine the turnover of directors of labour offices during periods of government changes, changes in the position of the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs, and Family, as well as changes in the process of their recruitment. The research concludes higher turnover during periods when directors of labour offices were politically appointed, following the parliamentary elections, while changes in the position of the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs, and Family did not have an impact on the turnover of directors of labour offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]