(67 MON)
CIVIL SERVICE DEPARTMENT
WHITEHALL LONDON SWIA 2AZ
Telephone Direct line 01 273 5540
Switchboard 01 273 3000
HRG.025/2
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 30 JUL 1979
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
PA
REGISTRY
Action Taken
No 13/9y.
27 July 1979
A E Clarke Esq
Hong Kong and General Department Foreign and Commonwealth Office
SW1
draft guil
20
CR 55
Dear Clarks
COLONIAL REGULATIONS
Thank you for your letter of 10 May 1979. I am sorry that I have not been able to reply sooner; I believe that Ms Smith has mentioned to you that we have had to consult the Treasury Solicitor which has, inevitably, contributed to the delay.
I have now received confirmation of the position on summary dismissal the point covered by CRS5 in the Hong Kong Regulations - and this is as follows. In common law, an officer may be dismissed at the pleasure of the Crown at any time without notice, as stated in Estacode Kb11. However, the Crown is bound by the unfair dismissal provisions of the Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978 (Part I) and has undertaken to observe the provisions of that Act (Part V), relating to notice of termination of employment.
We are at present working on a revision of section Kb of Estacode, for incorporation into the Civil Service Pay and Conditions of Service Code, and the Establishment Officers' Guide. I attach a copy of the present
This draft, which may be of interest to your contact in Hong Kong. draft is still subject to amendment and it almost certainly will be changed! - by the Joint Working Party on Discipline, which includes Staff Side members; but it nevertheless forms the basis of our present guidance to departments on disciplinary procedures, including provision for disciplinary dismissal. You will see that Guide paragraph 7 draws attention to a department's responsibilities under the Employment Protection Act.
This guidance also, I think, covers the point in paragraph 2b of your letter, namely what action can be taken where the integrity of a Crown servant is suspect. A ban on promotion is certainly one of the disciplinary penalties available to departments but such penalties must only be imposed under the formal disciplinary procedures as set out in draft Code paragraphs 5 and 6:
I hope that this information is helpful to you in replying to Hong Kong.
~Jones
Re
sincerely Dani
S R DAVIE