0355844099
141
19 March 1992
D Fish Esq ODA
East Kilbride
Dear Dave,
BY FAX
2 pages
this one including this
HKA 233/1
RECEIV
2 7 MAR 1992
DESK OFFICER
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
London SWIA 2AH
Telephone: 071-
HMOCS: TREATMENT OF OFFICERS
140
115
1. You will have noticed that in the final paragraph of our draft statement for use in opening consultations with HMOCS representatives, we said that the compensation/incentive arrangements would apply only to service since the date of an officer's enrolment in HMOCs. We also addressed this in para 9 of our telno 474 to Hong Kong. Hong Kong, in their telno 845 in response to our 474, have "strongly advised" against applying this limitation to any officer who had joined HMOCS and had bought back pensionable service before any announcement in principle of an HMOCS compensation scheme.
This Hong Kong telegram should reach you tomorrow.
2.
Our current Legal Advisers are unable to comment on whether there is any legal bar to our saying that the HMOCS arrangements we are making will be applicable only from the date of the officer's enrolment in HMOCS (or his application for enrolment). They consider that this is more a matter for the ODA and your Legal Advisers. (Mr Fifoot, when he starts work, may have some views).
3. This question could involve not just the compensation arrangements but also any sterling safeguard that was implemented. We shall clearly need to refer to precedent before considering further what line to take. I should therefore be most grateful if you could ask someone to examine what happened in previous territories. I think there are two questions we need to look into:
(a) Did other territories have contract officers who were
able to switch over to permanent pensionable terms and buy back pension entitlements? If so, did HMG recognise the period bought back as qualifying service for any compensation?
MVSADX
Page 225Page 226
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.