An independent advisory committee appointed by the Chief Executive to, among others, advise the Government on all applications to take up post-service employment from directorate civil servants. Please click here for the terms of reference and membership of the Advisory Committee on Post-service Employment of Civil Servants.

Agreement terms

Directorate civil servants appointed on agreement terms are provided with a fixed-term appointment normally up to three years, and subject to renewal as necessary on a case-by-case basis. The benefits that a directorate civil servant on agreement terms receives after satisfactory completion of a fixed-term of service takes the form of an end-of-agreement gratuity which is a lump-sum payment expressed as a percentage of his total basic salary during the employment agreement. As at 30 June 2008, 1% of the about 1,200 serving directorate civil servants are on agreement terms.

Basic Law

Basic Law is the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The following provisions in the Basic Law are relevant to the post-service outside work control regime for directorate civil servants -

Article 33

'Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of choice of occupation.'

Article 39

'The provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and international labour conventions as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force and shall be implemented through the laws of the HKSAR.'

Article 100

'Public servants serving in all Hong Kong government departments, including the police department, before the establishment of the HKSAR, may all remain in employment and retain their seniority with pay, allowances, benefits and conditions of service no less favourable than before.'

Blanket permission

Blanket permission is given for unpaid work with specified non-commercial organisations by a directorate civil servant during his final leave, and/or sanitisation period and/or control period. No application for permission is required for such unpaid work but the concerned (or former) directorate civil servant is required to notify the Civil Service Bureau of the taking up of such work beforehand.

Case record

Under the new arrangement, for approved outside work taken up by directorate civil servants at Directorate Pay Scale D4 or above (or equivalent), a case record on the outside work will be put on a register for public inspection upon request. The record will be kept on the public register until the expiry of the applicant's control period or after he has notified the Civil Service Bureau of the cessation of the outside work, whichever the earlier. The case record covers the following basic information: name of the applicant, last post title in the civil service, date of cessation of active service, sanitisation period and additional restrictions (if any) imposed on the approved work, commencement date of the approved work, identity of the outside employer, position in the outside organisation and a brief description of the applicant's main duties in the outside organisation on approved post-service outside work taken up.

Cease active service

During the final leave period, a directorate civil servant will remain a civil servant. Nonetheless, he will cease active service, i.e. not performing any government duties, or having any access to government office or information. Indeed, the vacated posts may have been taken up by other civil servants in most cases.

Civil Service Provident Fund Scheme

With effect from 1 June 2000, newly recruited civil servants on new terms who are confirmed to permanent terms are provided with retirement benefits under the Civil Service Provident Fund (CSPF) Scheme. CSPF comprises the accrued benefits attributable to the Government's Mandatory Contribution ('GMC benefits') and the Government's Voluntary Contribution ('GVC benefits'). While GMC benefits are by law fully and immediately vested with a scheme member, GVC benefits are by contract fully vested and payable to a CSPF civil servant when he leaves service upon completion of at least ten years of continuous service since first appointment or upon his retirement on or after reaching the prescribed retirement age. The normal retirement age under the CSPF is 60 for directorate civil servants in the civilian grades and 55 or 57 for those in the disciplined services grades (depending on rank and type of disciplined services).

Control period

Control period counts from a directorate civil servant 's formal departure from the Government (i.e. upon exhaustion of final leave). There are different control periods for former directorate civil servants, depending on their rank and on whether they are subject to the 'old arrangement' or 'new arrangement'. A directorate civil servant is required to seek the Government's prior permission for taking up outside work during the control period.

Directorate civil servants

A directorate civil servant is one who has been appointed substantively to a civil service post pitched at the rank of Directorate Pay Scale D1 to D8 (or equivalent), with D8 being the highest rank. As at 30 June 2008, there are about 1,200 serving directorate civil servants.

Directorate Pay Scale

Directorate civil servants are remunerated under the Directorate Pay Scale D1 to D8 (or equivalent), with D8 being the highest rank. Listed below are some examples of Directorate ranks –

D1 -

Chief Architect, Chief Labour Officer, Chief Pilot, Chief Superintendent of Police, Principal Executive Officer, Principal Medical and Health Officer and Principal Social Work Officer

D2 -

Administrative Officer Staff Grade C, Assistant Commissioner of Correctional Services, Assistant Director of Education, Government Town Planner, Senior Principal Executive Officer

D3 -

Administrative Officer Staff Grade B, Deputy Director of Accounting Services, Deputy Director of Immigration, Principal Government Land Surveyor

D4 -

Administrative Officer Staff Grade B1, Consultant, Deputy Director of Housing, Registrar of Companies

D5 -

Commissioner of Rating and Valuation, Director of Buildings, Director of Drainage Services, Director of Lands, Deputy Commissioner of Police,

D6 -

Administrative Officer Staff Grade A, Commissioner of Correctional Services, Director of Fire Services, Director of Information Services, Director of Legal Aid

D7 -

Director of Education, Director of Housing

D8 -

Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1, Commissioner of Police, Judiciary Administrator

Final leave

Most directorate civil servants will likely have accumulated some earned but untaken leave before their leaving the Government. Prior to their leaving the Government, they may take such accumulated leave (i.e. the final leave). A directorate civil servant is required to seek, during his final leave period, the Government's prior permission for taking up outside work. Directorate civil servants are not allowed to take up full-time paid work or work of a commercial nature during their final leave period, unless there are special considerations and there is no problem of dual identity.

Head of Grade

Head of Grade refers to the head of a group of job-related ranks. There are Heads of Grade for departmental grade staff (e.g. architects, land executives) and general grade staff (e.g. Administrative Officers or Executive Officers).

Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap. 383)

Hong Kong Bill of Rights offers protection to an individual against discrimination in violation of rights and provides, among others, an autonomous right to equality. Provisions relevant to post-service outside work control for directorate civil servants are set out below -

Article 1(1)

'The rights recognized in this Bill shall be enjoyed without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.'

Article 21(c)

'Every permanent resident shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 1(1) and without unreasonable restrictions to have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in Hong Kong.'

Article 22

'All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or their opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.'

International covenants

In accordance with the Basic Law, certain international covenants are applied to Hong Kong. The following international covenants are relevant to the post-service outside work control for directorate civil servants –

(a) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966

Article 6 :

(1)

'The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate steps to safeguard this right.'

(2)

'The steps to be taken by a State Party to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include technical and vocational guidance and training programmes, policies and techniques to achieve steady economic, social and cultural development and full and productive employment under conditions safeguarding fundamental political and economic freedoms to the individual.'

(b) Employment Policy Convention, 1964

Article 1(2)(c) :

'There is freedom of choice of employment and the fullest possible opportunity for each worker to qualify for, and to use his skills and endowments in, a job for which he is well suited, irrespective of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin.'

New arrangement

Please refer to paragraphs 5 to 7 under 'Control Arrangements' for details.

New Pension Scheme

The New Pension Scheme (NPS) is governed by the Pension Benefits Ordinance (Cap. 99). NPS is for civil servants appointed on pensionable terms on or after 1 July 1987 or those civil servants of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) who have decided to join the NPS within a specified opting period. The normal retirement age under NPS is 60 for civilian civil servants at directorate ranks. For those who have opted to switch from OPS to NPS, they may retire on or after attaining the age of 55. The prescribed retirement age for directorate civil servants in the disciplined services grades is 55 or 57 (depending on ranks and type of disciplined services), but they may choose to retire on or after attaining the age of 55.

New permanent terms

The appointment of civil servants on pensionable terms came to an end on 1 June 2000. Since then, all newly recruited civil servants are employed on new terms. They are eligible to enjoy retirement benefits in the form of a Mandatory Provident Fund (provided in compliance with the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485)) for their initial years of service (normally three to six years); and retirement benefits in the form of the Civil Service Provident Fund Scheme for their remaining years of service upon confirmation to permanent terms. They are not entitled to pensions when they retire from the service. In time, this type of civil servants will replace all the directorate civil servants on pensionable terms.

New terms

New terms are new sets of terms of appointment and conditions of service applicable to new appointees to the civil service on civil service terms and conditions who are offered appointment on or after 1 June 2000. Under the new terms of appointment which should follow the basic entry system, new recruits to basic ranks should normally be appointed on probationary terms for a specified probationary period (which as a norm should be three years). They may be offered further appointment on agreement terms for a specified period (which as a norm should be three years), to be followed by appointment on the prevailing permanent terms. Direct recruits to supervisory ranks will normally be appointed on agreement terms for a specified agreement period (which as a norm should be three years). These recruits will be required to serve on agreement terms for at least three years before they can be considered for appointment on the prevailing permanent terms. As at 30 June 2008, 1% of the about 1,200 serving directorate civil servants are on new permanent terms.

Old arrangement

Please refer to paragraphs 5 to 7 under 'Control Arrangements' for details.

Old Pension Scheme

The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) is governed by the Pensions Ordinance (Cap. 89). OPS is for civil servants appointed on pensionable terms before 1 July 1987. Under the OPS, the normal retirement age is 55 for both civilian and disciplined services civil servants at directorate ranks. Directorate civil servants may retire on or after attaining the age of 50, or apply for premature retirement on or after attaining the age of 45 on grounds of ill health, compassionate or personal reasons.

Outside work

'Outside work' refers to paid or unpaid, full-time or part-time appointment, employment or any other work, the principal part of which is undertaken in Hong Kong. It includes entering into business on one's own account, becoming a partner in a partnership, becoming an executive or non-executive director of a company, becoming an employee, etc. Re-employment with the HKSAR Government or appointment to a government advisory board/committee is NOT regarded as outside work.

Under the 'new arrangement', prior permission is required if an applicant is to be based in Hong Kong for paid outside work involving duties outside Hong Kong, or if an applicant is to work outside Hong Kong either for an organisation or on his own account, in a business that has any connection with Hong Kong. For retired directorate civil servants on pensionable terms and subject to the 'old arrangement' , they should notify Civil Service Bureau (CSB) of any intended paid outside work involving duties outside Hong Kong if they are based in Hong Kong, or are to work overseas for a company that has any business connections at all with Hong Kong. CSB will decide whether prior application is necessary. This requirement does not apply to directorate civil servants on agreement terms and subject to the 'old arrangement'.

Pension Benefits Ordinance (Cap. 99)

Pension Benefits Ordinance (Cap. 99) is the legislation governing the New Pension Scheme. A pensionable civil servant may opt to receive his pension benefits partly in a lump sum payment and partly in a monthly payment until death, or only in the form of a monthly payment until death. The lump-sum is paid to a civil servant immediately on his retirement, while the monthly payments are payable to him until death. The Ordinance provides that the entitlement to pension benefits shall be a right, except as otherwise provided in the Ordinance. The circumstances provided in the Ordinances under which pensions may not be granted, cancelled, suspended or reduced includes bankruptcy, conviction of specific offences under the laws of Hong Kong, civil service disciplinary proceedings, etc.

Pension suspension

Under the Pensions Ordinance (Cap. 89) and Pension Benefits Ordinance (Cap. 99) , for the purpose of post-service outside work of directorate civil servants, the monthly pension payments may be suspended under the following two circumstances –

(a)

Aa pensioner re-appointed to the public service or appointed to service in a subvented organisation determined to be public service by the Chief Executive by notice in the Gazette may have his pension suspended during the period of his service in the public service or the organisation as the case may be; and

(b)

Aa pensioner taking up post-service outside work without prior permission may have his pension suspended.

Pensionable terms

A civil servant appointed on pensionable terms is eligible for pensions as provided for under the relevant pension ordinances (i.e. Pensions Ordinance (Cap. 89) and Pension Benefits Ordinance (Cap. 99)) governing two different pension schemes. As at 30 June 2008, 98% of the about 1 200 serving directorate civil servants are on pensionable terms. The appointment of civil servants on pensionable terms came to an end on 1 June 2000. In time, all the directorate civil servants on pensionable terms will be replaced by civil servants on new terms who are NOT entitled to pension benefits.

Pensions Ordinance (Cap. 89)

Pensions Ordinance (Cap. 89) is the legislation governing the Old Pension Scheme. A pensionable civil servant may opt to receive his pension benefits partly in a lump sum payment and partly in a monthly payment until death, or only in the form of a monthly payment until death. The lump-sum is paid to a civil servant immediately on his retirement, while the monthly payments are payable to him until death. The Ordinance provides that the entitlement to pension benefits shall be a right, except as otherwise provided in the Ordinance. The circumstances provided in the Ordinances under which pensions may not be granted, cancelled, suspended or reduced includes bankruptcy, conviction of specific offences under the laws of Hong Kong, civil service disciplinary proceedings, etc.

Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486)

Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) provides for protection of personal data including an individual's employment details. The protection of personal data on post-service outside work for directorate civil servants will be balanced against the need to disclose such data on grounds of public interests.

Post-service

Post-service means after a civil servant has ceased active service. The majority of directorate civil servants leave the service on retirement. Other circumstances of departure from the civil service include resignation, completion of agreement, termination of service, dismissal, etc.

Principal Officials under the Political Appointment System

The principal officials under the Political Appointment System refer to the Secretaries of Department and Directors of Bureau. They are employed on other than civil service terms and are not civil servants.

Sanitisation period

Post-service outside work for a directorate civil servant is subject to control during the specified sanitisation period, his final leave and the specified control period. Sanitisation period counts from the date of cessation of active service of a directorate civil servant. For directorate civil servants who leave the civil service on retirement ground and who are on pensionable or new permanent terms , the sanitisation period is set at a minimum of 6 to 12 months. For those who leave the service on grounds other than retirement (e.g. completion of agreement, or resignation, etc.), the sanitisation period will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Applications for post-service outside work by directorate civil servants during the sanitisation period will normally not be approved (other than unpaid work under the blanket permission ). The minimum sanitisation period will only be shortened on a very exceptional basis whilst it may be lengthened if so required on a case-by-case basis.

Specified non-commercial organisations

Blanket permission is given for unpaid post-service outside work with three categories of non-commercial organisations, i.e. (a) charitable, academic or other non-profit making organisations not primarily engaged in commercial operations; (b) non-commercial regional/international organisations; or (c) the Central Authorities of the People's Republic of China.

Work restrictions

In approving an application of post-service outside work from a directorate civil servant or former directorate civil servant, the Secretary for the Civil Service, as the approving authority, may impose work restrictions to further guard against any potential conflict of interest. Under the new arrangement, standard work restrictions are imposed on all approved cases.

NOTE:

Words importing one gender include the others.

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