1999 Starting Salaries Review

The Administration commissioned the Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service (Standing Commission) to conduct a review of starting salaries in the Civil Service in 1998.  The results of the review showed that civil service entry pay had outstripped that in the private market.  To bring the Civil Service closer in line with the market, benchmarks for most of the 12 Qualification Groups of the civilian grades were lowered by 6% to 31% and that for the disciplined grades were lowered by 3% to 17%.  There was no change to the maximum point of the basic ranks and the pay beyond entry level.

The revised benchmarks and starting salaries took effect on 1 April 2000 for recruits and serving staff on transfer.

Following the revision of the starting salaries for the civil service in 2000, an officer who was offered an appointment/ promoted to a basic rank on or after 1 April 2000 was remunerated on a delinked starting salary on the relevant reference pay scale.  He would remain on that pay point on the reference pay scale until he qualified for an increment after which he would join the respective pay scale and move along the relevant scale in subsequent years subject to satisfactory performance.

2006 Starting Salaries Survey

We commissioned the Consultant engaged by us to conduct the 2006 Pay Level Survey to also conduct a starting salaries survey, using 1 April 2006 as the reference date.  The qualification benchmark method (adopted in the 1999 Starting Salaries Reivew) was used by the Consultant in the 2006 Starting Salaries Survey.

On 15 May 2007, the Chief Executive (CE)-in-Council endorsed the findings of the 2006 Starting Salaries Survey (PDF format) and the application (PDF format) of its results to the civil service.  With the approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council on 6 July 2007, the new starting salaries took effect on 1 August 2007.  For details of the new starting salaries, please refer to the relevant Establishment Subcommittee paper.

With the CE-in-Council's endorsement, a starting salaries survey will be conducted every three years to ensure that civil service entry pay stays closely in line with that of the market.  In view of the periodic conduct of starting salaries surveys, with effect from 1 August 2007 when the new starting salaries came into effect, all reference pay scales were abolished.