A proposed Legislative Council limit would cap bonuses, contract-completion payments and other sums paid to legislators’ assistants at 15% of each assistant’s salary, whatever label was used.
Under the reported rules, covered payments would have to be clearly written into employment contracts. The Legislative Council Secretariat could refuse claims that did not comply. The proposal has been provisionally agreed, but its final details and start date are still pending. If it goes ahead, the Secretariat is expected to issue new guidance, and some assistants may need to amend their contracts.
The proposal follows about HK$9.4 million in bonuses and similar payments to 157 assistants by 30 legislators leaving office at the end of the previous term. Assistants’ salaries are reimbursed through legislators’ office operating expenses, making the spending public money.
One representative told HK01 that assistants face changing workloads and may work overtime, and that bonuses can be a reasonable reward for that work. With office budgets limited, some legislators pay bonuses as a lump sum at the end of a term, depending on their finances; the representative warned that a cap could make budgeting harder.
Another representative backed tighter controls, arguing that public money needs clear rules and legislators should set an example, and said legislators could reward strong performance by increasing an assistant’s salary within their budget, or by paying for an exceptional reward themselves.