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11.
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III Residential Allowances
We have been much struck with certain variations
in the Residential Allowances laid down in the various
scales. The reason for this system of allowances is
explained in paragraph 4 of Sir Andrew Caldecott's despatch
1936, No.491 of the 19th August/as being to compensate time scale officers in Hong Kong for the higher cost, as compared with Africa, of maintaining a suitable social status. It might therefore have been expected that the allowances would have borne some fixed relation to salary. There appears, however, to be no such relation. The following divergences may be noted as examples:-
(1)
(2)
Residential Allowances commence in the third year of
service in the Audit Service, in the fourth year in the Public Works, Educational, Medical and Legal
Services, in the fifth year in the Administrative
Service, and in the ninth year in the Police Service. The basic maxima of the Administrative, Public Works,
Educational and Medical Services are identical,
£1150; but while the first three all get a Residential Allowance of £150 the last gets only
On the other hand the Police get £150
Residential Allowance attached to a basic salary of
£1050. It is possibly arguable that Administrative
officers have to spend more on maintaining a position
than others but no such distinction can be drawn
between Educational and Medical officers.
£50.
(3) In the Administrative scale there is a very large
12.
jump in the officer's total pay at the tenth year
owing to an increase from £50 to £100 in the
Residential Allowance coinciding with an increase
from £700 to £800 in basic salary.
We conclude that the Residential Allowances were
fixed somewhat arbitrarily and partly with the object of
lessening the reductions in certain scales. We greatly