Summary of the Development of
Civil Service Pay Policy and System in Hong Kong

(A)      General, Civilian and Non-directorate

1950s

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1960s

The Government appointed a Salaries Commission every five or six years to review the general levels of civil service pay, and the salaries and structures of individual grades.

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1965

The 1965 Salaries Commission recommended that civil service pay should be based on the principle of fair comparison with the private sector.

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1968

The Government accepted the 1968 Salaries Commission��s recommendation and drew up a statement which contained the following basic principles of pay policy �V

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(a)

(b)

the Government subscribes to the principle of fair comparison with the current remuneration of private sector staff employed on broadly comparable work, taking account of differences in other conditions of service; and

the public service has a reasonable claim to the maintenance of real income on the evidence of cost of living indices, provided it can be demonstrated that this is also the experience of other employees.

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The Pay Investigation Unit was set up in the then Civil Service Branch to collect and analyse information on private sector pay and conditions of service.

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1971

The 1971 Salaries Commission endorsed the principle of fair comparison.

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1972 �V

1974

The Government accepted the 1971 Salaries Commission��s recommendations to adopt the occupational class system and make pay comparison with the private sector on an occupational class basis.  However, as there were problems in finding comparable jobs in the private sector, this was not pursued.  Adjustment on civil service pay was made on the basis of cost of living data. 

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1974

The first pay trend survey was conducted.  The survey has since been conducted on an annual basis till now.

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1979

The Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service (Standing Commission) was established.  It conducted the first salary structure review in 1979 and recommended that the Government should adopt the educational qualification system after finding the other two methods, i.e. the occupational class system and the core grade approach either unworkable or less suitable.

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1982

The Pay Investigation Unit was transferred to the Secretariat of the Standing Commission and re-titled the Pay Survey and Research Unit.

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1986

A pay level survey was conducted in response to Staff Sides�� request for an increase in salaries following an increase for the directorate. 

A job evaluation method based on three elements: (a) know-how, (b) problem-solving and (c) accountability, with fringe benefits valued at the maximum notional value to employees, was adopted.

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1987

Results of the pay level survey were made known to staff in February 1987.  The Staff Sides expressed serious reservations on the methodology adopted for the assessment of jobs and for the valuation of individual fringe benefits.

The Government accepted in principle the results of the pay level survey in April 1987. 

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1988

An improvement package was implemented for Model Scale 1 staff having regard to the results of the 1986 pay level survey.

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The Staff Sides did not accept the pay offer in the 1988 pay adjustment.  In accordance with a 1968 agreement with the Staff Sides, a Committee of Inquiry (C of I) was appointed to consider the dispute.

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1989

The C of I submitted an Interim Report in November 1988 and a Final Report in March 1989 noting that the 1986 pay level survey did not provide a sufficient basis for making specific adjustments to civil service pay, and recommending that a revised formula should be used for future net pay trend indicators and adjustment for the lower band should be brought up to the level of the middle band should the former be lower.  These were accepted by the Government.

In March 1989 the Standing Commission accepted the Administration��s invitation to conduct an overall review of salary structure. 

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1989 �V

1991

The Government accepted the First, Second & Third Reports on Salary Structure Review from the Standing Commission and implemented the recommendations in respect of individual grades.

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1999 �V

2000

A Review on Civil Service Starting Salaries was conducted in 1999 and the revised starting salaries (representing a reduction of some 6% - 31%) were implemented in April 2000.

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2000 �V

2001

A pilot scheme on team-based performance rewards was devised and introduced.

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2001

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In December, the three advisory bodies on civil service pay and conditions of service were invited by the Secretary for the Civil Service to conduct a comprehensive review on the pay policy and system.

(B)      Disciplined Services

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1979

In its First Report on Civil Service Pay, the Standing Commission recommended the creation of a special Disciplined Services Pay Scale (DSPS) on which most officers were paid more than their Master Pay Scale (MPS) equivalents.

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1988

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The Government invited the Standing Commission in February 1988 to commission an independent review on the pay and conditions of service of the disciplined services (Rennie Committee).

The Rennie Committee submitted its Final Report in October 1988.  It recommended the creation separately of a Police Pay Scale and a General Disciplined Services Pay Scale (GDS) and the setting up of the Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service (SCDS). 

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1989 �V

1990

SCDS has conducted, on the request of the Administration and the disciplined services, a number of reviews since 1989.  The major ones are listed below �V

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(a)

Pay for the Directorate, Senior Superintendent and Superintendent and equivalent ranks in the disciplined services

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(b)

Pay for the rank and file in the disciplined services

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(c)

Pay for the Officer Cadre in the Disciplined Services

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1992

SCDS recommended pay and non-pay related improvements for the Junior Police Officers to address the recruitment and retention problems.

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1998

SCDS recommended adjustment of the pay scales for the Junior Police Officers by increasing the maximum pay point.

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1999

Having regard to the recommendations of the Standing Commission on the starting salaries for civilian grades, SCDS recommended a new set of starting salaries for the disciplined grades (representing a reduction of some 3% - 17%).

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2001

SCDS endorsed the Administration��s proposal to reduce Police Officers�� conditioned hours from 51 to 48 per week without a change in pay scales.

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In December 2001, the three advisory bodies on civil service pay and conditions of service were invited by the Secretary for the Civil Service to conduct a comprehensive review on the pay policy and system.

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(C)      Directorate

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General

Since 1964, the Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Service (the Directorate Committee) has advised the Government on directorate pay adjustments on the basis of a periodic private sector survey (every few years).  In between overall reviews, directorate salaries were adjusted annually on an interim basis in line with the increase for the upper band of non-directorate staff.  The last overall review was completed in June 1989.  Since then, the annual adjustment of directorate pay has followed the adjustment for the upper band of non-directorate staff.

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1985

The Directorate Committee conducted a review in 1985 to consider the structure of the directorate, the grouping of departments, directorate salaries and conditions of service. 

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In July 1985 the Government accepted the recommendation to increase directorate pay according to the recommended range (from 6.4% to 13.8%).

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1986

The same consultant for a non-directorate survey was commissioned to carry out a concurrent survey for directorate officers.

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1987

Having noted the results published in February 1987, the Directorate Committee concluded that the directorate salaries as at mid-1986 were appropriate.

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1989

As part of its tenth overall review of directorate salaries and conditions of service, the Directorate Committee commissioned a survey of trends in remuneration of senior management in the private sector.  It recommended increases ranging from 19% to 27% for officers on the directorate pay scale.

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1990

Having regard to the Directorate Committee��s recommendations, the Government decided in April 1990 that the pay adjustment for the directorate should be implemented in two phases, at 7.5% from 1 April 1990 and the remaining 7.5% in October 1990.

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1991 �V

now

The pay for the directorate is adjusted annually in accordance with the size of adjustment for the upper pay band (except in 1998 when the D3 and above pay scale was frozen despite a 6.03% adjustment for the upper band and D2 and below).

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2001

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In December, the three advisory bodies on civil service pay and conditions of service were invited by the Secretary for the Civil Service to conduct a comprehensive review on the pay policy and system.

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