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CHAPTER III
EXPATRIATION PAY
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
37. Paragraph 3 of Part I of White Paper Colonial No. 197 dealing with the organisation of the Colonial Service states:-
"If progressive advancement along the road to self-government within the framework of the British Commonwealth of Nations is to be a reality, the public services of the Colonies must be adapted to local conditions and must to the greatest possible extent be staffed by local people. It is already a fully accepted principle that there should be no barrier to the appointment of a Colonial candidate or a locally recruited public servant to any post which he is qualified to fill; but it would be unrealistic not to recognise that for a long time to come many Colonies will not be able to find from their own resources enough suitably qualified staff to fulfil all the requirements of modern administration..
"
38. Paragraph 21 of Part IV of the same White Paper dealing with the structure of the Colonial Service lays down certain general principles to which we have already referred. These dealing with the basis on which salaries should be paid are as follows:-
(i) "The salaries of all posts in the public service of a Colony should be determined according to the nature of the work and the relative responsibilities irrespective of the race or domicile of the indivi- duals occupying the posts.
(ii) The salaries should be fixed at rates applicable to locally recruited staff, even though there may, for the time being, be grades in which few or no locally recruited officers are in fact serving. (iii) In fixing these basic salaries regard should be paid to the relevant local circumstances, such as the ruling income levels in those classes of the community from which the public service is or will be recruited.
(iv) Where the salaries so fixed are insufficient to attract and retain officers from overseas. expatriation pay should be provided for such officers. In determining the rates of expatriation pay it will be relevant to consider such factors as the additional expenses to which an officer may be put by reason of the fact that he is serving away from his own home, especially when his services are in a non-temperate climate; the remuneration and amenities available in alternative careers in the officer's home country; and the general standard of remuneration and conditions in the Colonial Service."
PRINCIPLE OF EXPATRIATION PAY AS APPLIED TO HONG KONG
89.
We take it that the principle of expatriation pay envisaged by the Colonial Office, as applied to Hong Kong, implies at least the following elements:-
(i) that an officer holding certain indispensable qualifications is essential
for appointment to the service of the Hong Kong Government: (ii) that no such person with the requisite qualifications is available for
local recruitment;
(iii) that in consequence of (i) and (ii) above it becomes necessary to
recruit an officer from some place outside Hong Kong; and (iv) that the place from which such an officer is so recruited is so distant, and from the point of view of climate, mode of living, social amenities and customs is so different from Hong Kong, that the appointment of such an officer involves an "uprooting" from his normal family surroundings.
RECOMMENDATION
40. We accept the principle of expatriation pay as enunciated in the preceding paragraph.