Pay Policy

The Government's civil service pay policy is to offer sufficient remuneration to attract, retain and motivate staff of suitable calibre to provide the public with an effective and efficient service; and such remuneration should maintain broad comparability between civil service and private sector pay.

Pay Scales

Civil servants are remunerated on the corresponding pay scales of their respective grades and ranks. Pay scales for different ranks in a grade are expressed as a range of points on the respective pay scales. Subject to satisfactory performance, including conduct, diligence and efficiency during the appraisal period, officers may be granted one increment a year within their respective pay scales of their ranks until they reach the maximum point of the scales. Upon promotion, they will advance to the pay scales of the ranks they have been promoted to. The civil service pay scales and Independent Commission Against Corruption pay scale are detailed here.

Civil Service Pay Adjustment Mechanism

Civil service pay adjustments are considered annually under the established mechanism. In deciding each year's pay adjustment, the Chief Executive-in-Council takes into account the following six relevant factors –

(1)    the state of Hong Kong's economy;
(2)    changes in the cost of living;
(3)    the Government's fiscal position;
(4)    the net pay trend indicators (PTIs) derived from the pay trend survey (PTS);
(5)    the pay claims of staff side; and
(6)    civil service morale.

The purpose of the PTS is to measure the year-on-year pay movement of employees in the private sector. The PTS is commissioned and overseen by the Pay Trend Survey Committee (PTSC) and results of the PTS are subject to its validation. The PTSC comprises independent lay members from the business and professional sectors, as well as Government and staff side representatives. The fieldwork of the PTS is undertaken by the Pay Survey and Research Unit of the Joint Secretariat for the Advisory Bodies on Civil Service and Judicial Salaries and Conditions of Service.

Reference

- Legislative Council Briefs on Civil Service Pay Adjustments in recent years :

2026-27 Civil Service Pay Adjustment – Pay Decision
2026-27 Civil Service Pay Adjustment – Pay Offer
2024-25 Civil Service Pay Adjustment – Pay Decision
2024-25 Civil Service Pay Adjustment – Pay Offer
2023-24 Civil Service Pay Adjustment – Pay Decision
2023-24 Civil Service Pay Adjustment – Pay Offer

Apart from the PTS, the Pay Level Survey (PLS) and the Starting Salaries Survey (SSS) may be conducted to complement the assessment of how prevailing civil service pay compares with the pay in the private sector. PLS, conducted at six-yearly intervals, serves to compare the prevailing salaries of non-directorate civil servants in different grades with their counterparts in the private sector. SSS, to be conducted as and when necessary in response to specific circumstances, serves to compare the prevailing starting salaries of different basic ranks of civilian grades with the entry pay of jobs in the private sector requiring similar qualification requirements.

Reference

- Papers for Legislative Council :