Vaccine Bubble Implementation (Disciplinary Actions)

Hong Kong made this Freedom of Information request to Civil Service Bureau

Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

The request was partially successful.

Dear Civil Service Bureau,

I refer to the below news report on 25 Apr 2022 by RTHK where the Secretary for the Civil Service presented there were currently 22 civil servants and 5 other government employees who could not comply with the "Vaccine Bubble" arrangement -

"公務員事務局局長聶德權表示,截至本月初,有27名政府人員,包括22名公務員及5名其他政府僱員,因為未符合「疫苗通行證」措施而缺勤,其中5人已離開政府,對其他個案會採取相應行動。至於有關使用假安心出行的個案,已交到刑事調查跟進。"

https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k...

Please advise, as of 25 Apr 2022, details of -

(i) A breakdown on Bureaux/departments for which these 22 civil servants belong to;

(ii) A breakdown on disciplinary actions/punishments (whether summary or formal) eventually imposed on for these 22 civil servants. If investigation is ongoing for any of these officers, please separately provide a breakdown on the figures;

(iii) For (ii) above, a breakdown of whether these 22 officers are receiving payment of salary/allowances during the period where these officers could not comply with the "Vaccine Bubble" arrangement; and

(iv) For (ii) above, whether the Public Service Commission has been consulted in considering the disciplinary action imposed/to be imposed.

Thank you.

Civil Service Bureau

Dear Sir/ Madam,
 
Thank you for your email dated 29 April 2022.  We are processing your
request and will give you a reply as soon as possible.  
 
 
Yours sincerely,
(Miss Lilian YIP)
for Secretary for the Civil Service  

show quoted sections

Dear Civil Service Bureau,

I refer to the below news report on 25 Apr 2022 by RTHK where the
Secretary for the Civil Service presented there were currently 22 civil
servants and 5 other government employees who could not comply with the
"Vaccine Bubble" arrangement -

"公務員事務局局長聶德權表示,截至本月初,有27名政府人員,包括22名公務員及5
名其他政府僱員,因為未符合「疫苗通行證」措施而缺勤,其中5人已離開政府,對
其他個案會採取相應行動。至於有關使用假安心出行的個案,已交到刑事調查跟進
。"

[1]https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k...

Please advise, as of 25 Apr 2022, details of -

(i) A breakdown on Bureaux/departments for which these 22 civil servants
belong to;

(ii) A breakdown on disciplinary actions/punishments (whether summary or
formal) eventually imposed on for these 22 civil servants. If
investigation is ongoing for any of these officers, please separately
provide a breakdown on the figures;

(iii) For (ii) above, a breakdown of whether these 22 officers are
receiving payment of salary/allowances during the period where these
officers could not comply with the "Vaccine Bubble" arrangement; and

(iv) For (ii) above, whether the Public Service Commission has been
consulted in considering the disciplinary action imposed/to be imposed.

Thank you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request under the Code of Access to Information facilitated via
the accessinfo.hk website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[FOI #1078 email]

Is [Civil Service Bureau request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests to
Civil Service Bureau? If so, please contact us using this form:

[2]https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[3]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k...
2. https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...
3. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

CSB Access to Information Officer/CSB, Civil Service Bureau

Dear Sir/ Madam,

 

Thank you for your email dated 29 April 2022.  We are processing your
request as more time is required by the relevant subject division to
consider the scope of information to be released and will give you a reply
as soon as possible.  

 

 

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Lilian YIP)

for Secretary for the Civil Service 

 

 

show quoted sections

This e-mail message (together with any attachments) is for the designated
recipient only.  It may contain information that is privileged for the
designated recipient.  If you are not the intended recipient, you are
hereby notified that any use, retention, disclosure, copying , printing,
forwarding or dissemination of the message is strictly prohibited. If you
have received the message in error, please erase all copies of the message
(including attachments) from your system and notify the sender
immediately.
本電郵(連同附加檔案)只供指定收件人閱讀,內容可能包括只有指定收件人才有權接
收的資料。如本電郵並非是發給你,你不得使用、保留、披露、複製、列印、轉發或
發放本電郵。如因錯誤致令你收到本電郵,請從你的電腦系統中刪除本電郵的所有複
本(包括附加檔案),並立即通知寄件者。

From:        Hong Kong <[1][FOI #1078 email]>
To:        FOI requests at Civil Service Bureau <[2][Civil Service Bureau request email]>,
Date:        29/04/2022 12:44 AM
Subject:        Freedom of Information request - Vaccine Bubble
Implementation (Disciplinary Actions)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Civil Service Bureau,

I refer to the below news report on 25 Apr 2022 by RTHK where the
Secretary for the Civil Service presented there were currently 22 civil
servants and 5 other government employees who could not comply with the
"Vaccine Bubble" arrangement -

"公務員事務局局長聶德權表示,截至本月初,有27名政府人員,包括22名公務員及5
名其他政府僱員,因為未符合「疫苗通行證」措施而缺勤,其中5人已離開政府,對
其他個案會採取相應行動。至於有關使用假安心出行的個案,已交到刑事調查跟進
。"

[3]https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k...

Please advise, as of 25 Apr 2022, details of -

(i) A breakdown on Bureaux/departments for which these 22 civil servants
belong to;

(ii) A breakdown on disciplinary actions/punishments (whether summary or
formal) eventually imposed on for these 22 civil servants. If
investigation is ongoing for any of these officers, please separately
provide a breakdown on the figures;

(iii) For (ii) above, a breakdown of whether these 22 officers are
receiving payment of salary/allowances during the period where these
officers could not comply with the "Vaccine Bubble" arrangement; and

(iv) For (ii) above, whether the Public Service Commission has been
consulted in considering the disciplinary action imposed/to be imposed.

Thank you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request under the Code of Access to Information facilitated via
the accessinfo.hk website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[4][FOI #1078 email]

Is [5][Civil Service Bureau request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests
to Civil Service Bureau? If so, please contact us using this form:

[6]https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[7]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #1078 email]
2. mailto:[Civil Service Bureau request email]
3. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k...
4. mailto:[FOI #1078 email]
5. mailto:[Civil Service Bureau request email]
6. https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...
7. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

CSB Access to Information Officer/CSB, Civil Service Bureau

Dear Sir/ Madam,

 

Thank you for your email dated 29 April 2022.  We refer to your request
for information in relation to the disciplinary actions taken in the
Government’s implementation of the vaccine pass, after consulting the
relevant subject division, please find our reply as follows: 

 

 

(i) + (ii)          The fact is that an overwhelming majority of
government employees has complied with the “vaccine pass” requirement. 

Since the implementation of the requirement with effect from 16 February
2022, only 22 civil servants (position up to 25 April 2022 - as specified
in your request) had been / were absent from duty without permission
arising from non-compliance with the “vaccine pass” requirement.  Among
them,

(a)    10 officers were summarily dismissed;

(b)    4 officers (who had subsequently made it to comply with the
“vaccine pass” requirement and re-gain access to their workplace) were
issued verbal or written warnings;

(c)     5 officers resigned on their own and left the civil service; and

(d)    3 officers whose cases were being handled.

 

As regards your request for a breakdown by B/Ds, we are unable to accede
to this request.  For the above-mentioned 22 officers, they worked in 17
bureaux and departments (“B/Ds”).  So, the number of non-compliant
officer(s) in individual B/Ds concerned is very small (mostly only one for
each B/D involved).  Coupled with the fact that the non-compliance cases
all arose from within a short period of 2.5 months, our breakdown of the
22 cases by B/Ds might render it easy for the identity of the
non-compliant officers to be exposed.  It would also seriously jeopardise
the trust placed by the relevant officers (especially those who were
punished) on the Government, if their privacy could not be upheld and
their identity was exposed.  Moreover, since the processing of some cases
is under way, exposure of the identity of the non-compliant officers would
risk prejudicing whatever action to be taken against them. 

 

According to paragraph 2.15 (“Privacy of the Individual”) of the Code on
Access to Information, the Government may refuse to provide “information
about any person (including a deceased person) other than to the subject
of the information, or other appropriate person” unless under certain
circumstances which we do not consider are applicable to the present one. 
Moreover, according to paragraph 2.11 (“Public Employment and Public
Appointments”) of the Code, the Government may refuse to provide
“information which would harm or prejudice the management of the public
service”. 

 

(iii)                 Under the “no work, no pay” principle, civil
servants who are absent from duties without reasonable excuse may have
their salary deducted by proportion according to prevailing regulations. 
The same applied to officers who had been / were absent from duty without
permission arising from non-compliance with the “vaccine pass”
requirement.

 

(iv)                 In accordance with the established mechanism, the
Public Service Commission (“PSC”) was consulted on cases involving
disciplinary action of summary dismissal for civil servants under PSC’s
purview as set out in the PSC Ordinance.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

(Miss Lilian YIP)

for Secretary for the Civil Service 

 

show quoted sections

This e-mail message (together with any attachments) is for the designated
recipient only.  It may contain information that is privileged for the
designated recipient.  If you are not the intended recipient, you are
hereby notified that any use, retention, disclosure, copying , printing,
forwarding or dissemination of the message is strictly prohibited. If you
have received the message in error, please erase all copies of the message
(including attachments) from your system and notify the sender
immediately.
本電郵(連同附加檔案)只供指定收件人閱讀,內容可能包括只有指定收件人才有權接
收的資料。如本電郵並非是發給你,你不得使用、保留、披露、複製、列印、轉發或
發放本電郵。如因錯誤致令你收到本電郵,請從你的電腦系統中刪除本電郵的所有複
本(包括附加檔案),並立即通知寄件者。

 

 

 

From: CSB Access to Information Officer <[1][Civil Service Bureau request email]>
Sent: Friday, May 6, 2022 12:58 PM
To: Hong Kong <[2][FOI #1078 email]>
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information request - Vaccine Bubble
Implementation (Disciplinary Actions)

 

Dear Sir/ Madam,
 
Thank you for your email dated 29 April 2022.  We are processing your
request and will give you a reply as soon as possible.  
 
 
Yours sincerely,
(Miss Lilian YIP)
for Secretary for the Civil Service  

Disclaimer
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-mail message (together with any attachments) is for the designated
recipient only.  It may contain information that is privileged for the
designated recipient.  If you are not the intended recipient, you are
hereby notified that any use, retention, disclosure, copying , printing,
forwarding or dissemination of the message is strictly prohibited. If you
have received the message in error, please erase all copies of the message
(including attachments) from your system and notify the sender
immediately.
本電郵(連同附加檔案)只供指定收件人閱讀,內容可能包括只有指定收件人才有權接
收的資料。如本電郵並非是發給你,你不得使用、保留、披露、複製、列印、轉發或
發放本電郵。如因錯誤致令你收到本電郵,請從你的電腦系統中刪除本電郵的所有複
本(包括附加檔案),並立即通知寄件者。

From:        Hong Kong <[3][FOI #1078 email]>
To:        FOI requests at Civil Service Bureau <[4][Civil Service Bureau request email]>,
Date:        29/04/2022 12:44 AM
Subject:        Freedom of Information request - Vaccine Bubble
Implementation (Disciplinary Actions)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Civil Service Bureau,

I refer to the below news report on 25 Apr 2022 by RTHK where the
Secretary for the Civil Service presented there were currently 22 civil
servants and 5 other government employees who could not comply with the
"Vaccine Bubble" arrangement -

"公務員事務局局長聶德權表示,截至本月初,有27名政府人員,包括22名公務員及5
名其他政府僱員,因為未符合「疫苗通行證」措施而缺勤,其中5人已離開政府,對
其他個案會採取相應行動。至於有關使用假安心出行的個案,已交到刑事調查跟進
。"

[5]https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k...

Please advise, as of 25 Apr 2022, details of -

(i) A breakdown on Bureaux/departments for which these 22 civil servants
belong to;

(ii) A breakdown on disciplinary actions/punishments (whether summary or
formal) eventually imposed on for these 22 civil servants. If
investigation is ongoing for any of these officers, please separately
provide a breakdown on the figures;

(iii) For (ii) above, a breakdown of whether these 22 officers are
receiving payment of salary/allowances during the period where these
officers could not comply with the "Vaccine Bubble" arrangement; and

(iv) For (ii) above, whether the Public Service Commission has been
consulted in considering the disciplinary action imposed/to be imposed.

Thank you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a request under the Code of Access to Information facilitated via
the accessinfo.hk website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[6][FOI #1078 email]

Is [7][Civil Service Bureau request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information requests
to Civil Service Bureau? If so, please contact us using this form:

[8]https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[9]https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Civil Service Bureau request email]
2. mailto:[FOI #1078 email]
3. mailto:[FOI #1078 email]
4. mailto:[Civil Service Bureau request email]
5. https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/ch/component/k...
6. mailto:[FOI #1078 email]
7. mailto:[Civil Service Bureau request email]
8. https://accessinfo.hk/en/change_request/...
9. https://accessinfo.hk/en/help/officers