In taking forward the five-day week initiative, our primary consideration is to maintain the overall level and efficiency of government services. The Government adheres to the following basic principles:

• no additional staffing resources;
• no reduction in the conditioned hours of service of individual staff;
• no reduction in emergency services; and
• continued provision of some essential counter services on Saturdays.

The Government has carefully considered the nature of services, the availability of alternative means of service delivery and the service utilisation rates before deciding which services should move to a five-day week under different phases of the scheme. Where appropriate, departments have consulted the relevant customer liaison groups, advisory committees or representatives of the industry sectors served. Non-provision of the selected services on Saturdays should have no significant impact on the public.

Immigration-related counter services (for registration of births and deaths, marriage ceremonies, ID card/visa/passport applications), mail delivery and post office counter services, job centres, occupational health clinics, Social Welfare Department’s Integrated Family Service Centres, medical social services in major hospitals and hostel services, environmental hygiene services, hawker management and control, market management, libraries, performing arts venues, museums and sports and recreational facilities maintain services on Saturdays or even Sundays.

Law enforcement, passenger and cargo clearance at control points, penal operations, maintenance of public order as well as emergency rescue service are not affected by the introduction of five-day week.

Please click here for details.

The back-offices of bureaux and most departments, offices which provide primarily in-house administrative, technical and professional support services and selected services with a direct public interface, the non-provision of which on Saturdays would have no significant impact on the public, have moved to a five-day week.

Please click here for details of services moved to a five-day week in Phase One, i.e. since 1 July 2006.

Please click here for details of services moved to a five-day week in Phase Two, i.e. since 1 January 2007.

Please click here for details of services moved to a five-day week in the Final Phase, i.e. since 1 July 2007.

Bureaux and departments have considered the impact of the new work pattern and reached out to consult the stakeholders in the private sector such as the relevant customer liaison groups, advisory committees or representatives of the industry sectors served when drawing up the implementation plans. Where appropriate, their views and suggestions such as the revised opening hours have been taken on board.

A total of some 94 300 civil servants are on a five-day week work mode (including those on a “five-day-work, two-day-off” duty pattern) upon the final phase implementation in July 2007.

Upon moving to the five-day week mode of operation, the Government has fully, if not more than, compensated the opening hours lost on Saturdays by extending the opening hours on weekdays. The opening hours of government offices have generally been extended by some 45 minutes to 1.5 hours on a daily basis. Certain departments have made services available during lunch hours or further extended the opening hours on selected weekdays, such as Mondays or Fridays, to cater for the needs of their clients. In addition, internet services, drop-in boxes and alternative payment channels have been made available or further enhanced to facilitate business transactions with the Government. All these measures would minimise the impact of the five-day week initiative on the community. To enable the continued provision of services during the extended opening hours, the staff concerned may work in staggered hours under a roster arrangement, having regard to their conditioned hours of service and operational requirement.

Although certain services are not provided on Saturdays, departments have, in the light of the nature of the services and the needs of the public, introduced alternative means of service delivery. For example, members of the public may make submissions or obtain services by phone, fax, post, e-mail or through the internet (many forms and information have been uploaded onto the departmental webpages) or drop-in boxes. Indeed, in most cases, especially business-related government services are highly accessible through electronic means. Non-provision of selected services on Saturdays should not have any significant impact on business operations. For example, users can apply for business registration and stamp instruments related to property transactions on the web, applications for Certificates of Origin and lodgement of Production Notifications with the Trade and Industry Department are already 100% electronic, applications for/renewal of driving licence can be made by post. Drop-in boxes are also made available in various departments for submission of documents at any time.

Very often, it is not necessary for members of the public to acquire the various government services in person. We encourage members of the public to make greater use of other means to transact business with Government, such as by post, fax, internet, telephone services. This will save their traveling and possibly waiting time at the service counters. For details, please visit the departmental webpages or call the 1823 Citizen’s Easy Link.

In taking forward the five-day week initiative, our primary consideration is to maintain the overall level and quality of government services. Prior to the move to a five-day week, bureaux and departments have compressed the performance pledges for the delivery of the affected services, where applicable, to ensure that these services will be delivered within the same calendar period; or have made arrangements to clear outstanding applications by Friday where practicable. Bureaux and departments are also encouraged to make available or further enhance their internet services, institute alternative payment channels, provide drop-in boxes, etc. to facilitate business transactions with the Government. The implementation of the five-day week initiative has not had any adverse impact on the Government’s performance pledge compliance.

Owing to the different nature of services and usage patterns, there have always been variations in the opening hours among bureaux and departments. Bureaux and departments determine their opening hours having regard to demands for services, usage habits of their clientele as well as relevant operational considerations. Standardising the opening hours of all government services might not serve the best interest of their respective clientele. There has been no change to this arrangement following the implementation of a five-day week.

Upon implementation of a five-day week, bureaux and departments have extended the service hours during weekdays to fully compensate for the non-provision of service on Saturdays. Government counter services are generally available from 9 am to 5 pm, although individual departments have decided to offer services before 9 am or extend the service hours beyond 5 pm (the Public Enquiry Service Centres of Home Affairs Department is an example), having regard to their specific operational considerations. Some departments are offering services throughout lunch hours to better serve their clients. In fact, taking account of client feedback collected during consultation, individual departments have further extended the service hours on specified days (such as Mondays and Fridays) to cater for the higher service demand. Bureaux and departments have actively publicised their new opening hours. The 24-hour government hotline 1823 also provides a one-stop enquiry service in this regard.

The Government has been closely monitoring the implementation of the five-day week initiative. The following aspects are covered in the reviews: public sentiment, monitoring and contingency measures, impact on service utilisation and operational efficiency, impact on performance pledge compliance and impact on staff.

The migration to the five-day week is well received by members of the public. Prior to the move of the concerned services to the five-day week in the three phases, bureaux and departments have compressed the performance pledges for the delivery of the affected services, where applicable, to ensure that these services will be delivered within the same calendar period; or have made arrangements to clear outstanding applications by Friday where practicable. Implementation of this initiative has not had any impact on the efficiency or performance pledge compliance of bureaux and departments. To assist members of the public to adapt to the five-day week service pattern, some bureaux and departments have further enhanced the alternative means of service delivery for better convenience of the public. Staff also welcome the new arrangement, noting that they are able to spend more time with their family, pursue further studies, sports and recreational activities, etc.

The Government’s overall assessment is that the implementation of the five-day week initiative has been generally smooth. The quality of government services has been maintained, the public has generally accepted this arrangement and staff feedback is also positive.

The Government’s policy is not to mandate a five-day week in Hong Kong. We consider individual organisations in the public and private sectors are in the best position to decide whether to adopt a five-day week having regard to their operational circumstances, needs of their clients, views of their staff, and so on.

The Government takes into account the public demand for services, other means of service provision, etc. in deciding the services, which are emergency or essential in nature, to be provided on Saturdays (or even Sundays). Our primary consideration is to maintain the overall level and efficiency of government services within the existing resources. We will continue to provide the more in-demand personal services on Saturdays. These include, for example, counter services of Immigration Department (for ID card/visa/passport applications), job centres, occupational health clinics and Social Welfare Department Integrated Family Service Centres. Furthermore, the Government will continue to provide a range of essential services seven days a week, including environmental hygiene, hawker management and control, market management, libraries, performing arts venues, museums and sports and recreational facilities. Law enforcement, rescue services, emergency repair of water and drainage works, and maintenance of public order will continue to be provided round-the-clock.

To ensure that members of the public are fully apprised of the impact on government services upon the implementation of a five-day week, we have launched an official website (www.gov.hk/info/5day/) with links to individual bureaux / departments’ homepages to provide information on their service hours. Moreover, Efficiency Unit’s 24-hour hotline - 1823 Citizen’s Easy Link – has been enhanced to provide a one-stop and ready source of information on the opening hours of various government services. We have widely publicised the initiative through various channels. Bureaux and departments also informed their major clients in the private sector of their service hours.