Starting July 3, the five-day week will be introduced in phases in the Government. When the arrangement is fully implemented in a year, most government offices will stay open longer during the week and will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
The main exceptions are emergency services, which will remain operational around the clock, and some essential services, which will continue to be provided on Saturdays or even Sundays.
When announcing the five-day week initiative in January, the Chief Executive pledged that the Government would maintain the overall level, quality and efficiency of public services.
He also hoped that the new style of operation would boost staff morale, improve work-life balance, promote social harmony, stimulate consumer spending, and create more job opportunities in the private sector.
Society welcomes change
In general, the community has welcomed this initiative. Some have observed that five-day week is the norm for governments around the world and that the SAR Government is finally catching up.
Some have agreed that the Government is right to encourage - but not compel - companies in the private sector to follow suit. Some have welcomed the new work arrangement as a family-friendly practice.
But concerns have also been expressed. Notably, some are worried that the non-provision of public services on Saturdays may undermine Hong Kong's competitiveness, and may cause inconvenience to businesses and individuals. We take these concerns very seriously.
We fully agree that the practice of five-day week in the Government must not impede the economic development of Hong Kong. And it must not lead to additional expenditure.
This is why we have gone to some lengths to consider which public services may migrate to a five-day week, to consult with the users of our many public services, and to come up with enhanced and additional forms of service delivery. This is also why the total hours of work of all government staff will remain unchanged.
Progressive approach
We appreciate the community needs time to adapt to the new mode of operation. This is why we have forsaken the 'big bang' approach, and chosen to introduce five-day week in the Government on a progressive basis.
The first phase will start this month, the second phase in January next year, and the third and final phase six months later. The feedback and the experience gained from the first phase will serve as useful input for the design of the subsequent phases.
For the first phase, we have selected those public services with pretty low utilisation rates on Saturdays. For those services in high demand, we will continue to provide them on Saturdays for the time being.
These include birth and death registration; ID card, visa and passport applications; job referral centres; occupational health clinics; social welfare family services; medical social services in hospitals, and so on.
Enhancement measures
In tandem with the introduction of five-day week, we have put in place various service enhancement measures. Generally speaking, government offices migrating to the new work arrangement will extend the hours of their counter service during the week.
Most offices will also provide services through the Internet, by fax, mail, telephone or drop-in boxes. These measures are particularly suited for those services that do not need to be acquired in person. They provide greater convenience to users than counter service. And they can help users to save time and travelling expenses.
We encourage members of the public to dial '1823', or to click on the Government's five-day week web-site, for more detailed information on the opening hours and the different service delivery methods of individual government offices.
A uniform approach is impractical, bearing in mind the wide variety of public services provided and the different needs of the users of individual services.
Emergency services
Understandably, the five-day week will not apply to emergency services. A number of essential services will also continue to be provided on Saturdays and Sundays, such as law enforcement; maintenance of public order; weather forecast services; library, museum, cultural and sports facilities; parks, playgrounds and country parks.
Following months of meticulous preparation, we are all set to bring in the new style of operation in the Government. Standing on the threshold of this new beginning, we wish to renew the Government's pledge to serve the community and every person in Hong Kong. We are confident that the five-day week arrangement will enhance efficiency and enable us to serve you better.
This was Secretary for the Civil Service Denise Yue's Letter to Hong Kong radio broadcast on July 2.
