TNAG-0992-FCO40-1211-Policy-on-salaries-and-pensions-for-civil-service-in-Hong-Ko-1980 — Page 63

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Their

which the public officer is told he is to be subject? sheer bulk prevents copies of all of them being sent to each appointee. Nevertheless, he is warned of their existence and could no doubt obtain access to them if he wished to do so before

entering his contract of service with the Crown.

G.Rs cover a wide variety of matters, some of which

are of fundamental importance to the public officer, dealing

with promotions, travel allowances, retirement, transfer, pay. and quarters. Others are concerned with the Government's

housekeeping arrangements, such as responsibility for handling. public money, security of documents and office procedures.

Thus, many G.Rs. are hardly suitable for incorporation into the contract of every public officer. It might, perhaps, be argued that only those which properly govern the relationship. of Crown as employer and the public officer, not those which deal in general terms with the running of the administration,

should form part of the contract. But such a distinction would

introduce uncertainty and confusion as to what is within the

contract and what is not.

1

The Crown, by the form of the contract which it offers to its employees, has chosen to incorporate all G.Rs into the

contract of service. And this is what we find the true position

to be.

It may be that it would be of advantage to the Crown

to divide Government Regulations into two parts, those which are to form part of the public officer's contract and those which

are not. The chosen part could thereafter be suitably and separately labelled and incorporated into contracts of service by a carefully worded reference to it which excludes any reference

to the other part.

C