Sustainability Report 2019/20

Initiatives in Office at Work

Staff Health and Safety

The HA accords high priority to health and safety of our staff. We promote physical, emotional and social wellness of our staff through our Employee Wellness Programme. During the year, our Employee Wellness Programme featured seminars on topics, such as mental health, Chinese medicine, eye care and stretching exercises.

The HA has also continued to mobilise resources to enhance staff’s OSH awareness and knowledge. During the year, a new round of Departmental Office Safety Inspection Exercise was commenced, and training on various OSH topics was continued. The training covers ISO 45001, first aid, construction safety, confined space operation, handling asbestos containing materials, lift and escalator safety, and handling emotionally unstable customers. The OSH guidelines, health tips and publications issued by the OSHC and the Labour Department are continued to be uploaded onto the OSH Intranet to cultivate safety awareness and culture.

Health and Wellness

Conducted micro-climate studies in 32 on-going projects

New health-related information was regularly uploaded to the HA’s Health Portal

Conducted micro-climate studies in 32 on-going projects

8,300 staff members attended 200 seminars/courses

Conducted micro-climate studies in 32 on-going projects

370 offices completed annual office safety inspection

A talk on eye care was arranged for staff

A talk on eye care was arranged for staff

On-line resources on fighting virus

On-line resources on fighting virus

In response to the COVID 19 outbreak, we have taken a series of measures to safeguard the health and safety of our staff.

  • Cleansing and disinfection work at the Housing Authority Headquarters (HAHQ) was promptly stepped up and colleagues were reminded to observe high level of personal hygiene.
  • Temperature scanning systems were installed at the entrances to the HAHQ to check the body temperatures of all staff and visitors on arrival.
  • Sanitising mats (disinfected with 1:49 diluted bleach every two hours) were laid at the entrances.
  • Dedicated rubbish bins with covers were placed at various locations in the HAHQ for disposal of used face masks.
  • Personal protective equipment such as face masks, alcohol-based hand-rubs and plastic gloves have been provided to staff who need them.
  • Updated information about precautionary measures and health tips from the Department of Health were regularly disseminated to staff via email.

Staff Appointment, Remuneration and Benefits

The HA strictly ensures the compliance with the Basic Law to appoint our staff. New recruits to the Civil Service on or after 1 July 1997 must be permanent local residents as stipulated in Article 99 of the Basic Law. In the HD, all senior staff at D2 rank and above are permanent Hong Kong residents. Meanwhile, the HA fully complies with all employment related legislation and prohibits the use of child labour or forced labour in all operations.

Depending on the terms of employment and job grades, remunerations for our staff follow either the civil service pay scales or contract staff pay bands and related annual pay adjustments. We adopt a three-level appraisal system to assess staff’s performance. In general, civil servants may receive an annual increment in their respective rank scales, while contract staff may be granted an annual one-off performance-based merit payment.

Besides, staff of the HA are eligible for multiple fringe benefits and wellbeing initiatives depending on their rank and terms of employment, which includes medical and dental treatment, housing benefits, annual leaves, retirement benefits, passage and education allowances.

Equal Opportunities

The HA is dedicated to cultivating an inclusive and discrimination-free workplace by providing equal opportunities and fair treatment in remuneration, fringe benefits, promotion, compensation and working environment for all our staff, regardless of their gender, ethnic group, age or disability.

To promote the provision of equal opportunities to persons with disabilities, we continued to participate in the "Talent-Wise Employment Charter and Inclusive Organisations Recognition Scheme" organised by Labour and Welfare Bureau. We continued to support the Social Welfare Department’s Sunnyway Programme, offering job attachment opportunities for youth aged between 15 and 29 with disabilities or early signs of mental illness.

Training and Development

The HA strives to nurture our staff through supporting their professional advancement and personal development. We offer our staff with a wide array of learning opportunities, delivering in the form of classroom training, attachment programmes, mentoring programmes, site visits and study tours. New learning materials were also uploaded to the HA e-Learning Portal for self-learning.

Workshop on Design Thinking

Workshop on Design Thinking

Videos-on-demand and other e-learning resources made available on our e-Learning Portal to supplement classroom training programmes

Videos-on-demand and other e-learning resources made available on our e-Learning Portal to supplement classroom training programmes

E-learning Portal

E-learning Portal

117 e-learning resources had been produced to facilitate self-learning

Training Hours

Training Hours

Averaged 18.8 hours per staff

Management Development Programmes

Management Development Programmes

Attended by 220 staff at professional or equivalent level and above

The HA has also continued the Extra Mile Card Plan to recognise exemplary performances and contributions of our staff. Success stories were published to encourage other colleagues.

Staff Integrity

Guided by the vision to provide quality housing at public interest, the HA ensures strict compliance with ethical operations and applicable legislation. High expectations in integrity and conduct are set on our staff, requiring them to adhere to guidelines issued by the department, Government and the Civil Service Bureau, as well as our departmental staff circulars. To facilitate the enforcement, we developed clear internal guidelines and requirements for the declaration of private investments, avoidance of conflict of interest, and acceptance of advantages and benefits.

The HA is fully committed to a corruption-free working environment in compliance with all anti-corruption legislation. We disseminate procedures on dealing with attempted bribery, allegations of corruption and referrals to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) via internal circulars. We also continuously provide anti-corruption related training, including briefings for new hires and integrity reinforcement seminars for existing staff to enhance the awareness of integrity at workplace. During the year, two confirmed case of convictions in relation to corruption in the HD was recorded and resolved.

Staff Communication

The HA continues to engage regularly with staff through effective communication to foster harmonious relationship. Five Departmental Consultative Committees (DCCs) are established to provide formal and regular forums for staff consultation and discussion with the objective to achieve better understanding and cooperation between management and staff. During the year, the five DCCs have around 80 staff side members elected among staff or nominated by the respective staff associations, representing all civil servants and contract staff in the HD. The staff associations also serve as interactive communication channels and staff are welcome to join staff associations.

We value ideas and suggestions that could improve efficiency and productivity of our services. During the year, we continued to implement the Departmental Staff Suggestion Scheme to recognise the constructive suggestions raised by our staff. Seven HA staff members were awarded under the Scheme.

A talk on eye care was arranged for staff

Awardees attending the Award Presentation Ceremony for Staff Achievements

Besides, to provide our staff with the latest HA news, we maintained other communication channels, including the Housing Dimensions and DCD Newsletter. Ad-hoc communication on departmental initiatives is also in place for internal knowledge exchange.

Knowledge Exchange with External Parties

The HA promotes and shares our work and experience in property management with external parties through various channels, including the HA/HD website, the HA Exhibition Centre, tours and site visits. To make further improvement of our work, we are also active in learning from foreign practices through familiarisation tours and international congresses.

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