Post-service Outside Work 

It is government policy that civil servants on final leave or former civil servants who have left the Government should not take up any work outside the Government which may constitute real or potential conflict of interest with their former government duties, or cause negative public perception embarrassing the Government and undermining the image of the civil service.  At the same time, the policy seeks to avoid unduly restricting the said individuals' right to pursue employment or other work after ceasing government service.

Directorate officers who wish to take up outside work, paid or unpaid, full-time or part-time, during their final leave period before their formal departure from the Government (retirement, completion/termination of agreement, resignation etc.), and/or within a specified control period counting from the said departure, should apply for prior permission from the Secretary for the Civil Service (SCS). "Outside work" refers to appointments, employment or any other work undertaken outside the Government and includes entering into business on one's own account, becoming a partner in a partnership, becoming a director of a company, becoming an employee, etc. SCS will decide on such applications after taking account of the advice of an independent Advisory Committee on Post-service Employment of Civil Servants. Permission may be granted with or without conditions, or be refused. Detailed arrangements are set out in CSB Circular No. 10/2005, and the specified forms referenced in that circular are appended below for use by relevant officers -

(a) Application form for permission to take up outside work after ceasing active government service (Form CSB/PSE/1(12/2005)) (PDF / DOC Format)

(b) Notification form on paid outside work undertaken outside Hong Kong (Form CSB/PSE/2(12/2005)) (PDF / DOC Format)

In response to the wide public concern expressed on the post-service outside work control regime for directorate civil servants, the Chief Executive announced on 30 September 2008 the establishment of an independent 'Committee on Review of Post-service Outside Work for Directorate Civil Servants' to review the existing policy and arrangements governing post-service outside work for directorate civil servants. The Committee will consult widely and consider submissions and representations from the public and relevant stakeholders. It will submit its findings and recommendations to the Chief Executive in mid-2009. The report will be made public. Please refer to the dedicated website of the Committee for its composition and terms of reference and details of its work at www.dcspostservice-review.org.hk .

For non-directorate officers retiring/retired on pensionable terms, they are also required to seek prior permission from their respective Heads of Department/Grade before taking up any outside work during their pre-retirement leave period and/or within two years after retirement. Blanket permission is given for all staff remunerated on the Model Scale 1 Pay Scale. Detailed arrangements are set out in CSB Circular No. 13/95.  An application for permission to take up post-retirement outside work should be made on a specified application form (Form CSB/PRA/1(Revised 12/2005)) (PDF / DOC Format).

All directorate officers and non-directorate officers retiring/retired on pensionable terms are given blanket permission to take up unremunerated work with specified non-commercial organizations.  No application is required, but an officer should notify the approving authority beforehand using a prescribed form (Form CSB/PSE/3(12/2005)) (PDF / DOC Format).

Suspension of pension

The pensions legislation provides that the payment of pension to a retired civil servant who is granted a pension under the pensions legislation may be suspended if he is re-appointed to the public service, or appointed to service in a subvented organization which is determined as public service for the purpose of pension suspension under the pensions legislation. Under the current pension suspension policy, civil servants who are re-appointed to serve in the Government, or appointed to the public organizations gazetted as public service for the purpose of pension suspension are required to have the payment of their monthly pension suspended. There are at present 16 subvented organisations gazetted for this purpose.