LEAVE
There are a range of leave entitlements staff members may be entitled to, according to their terms of appointment:
Annual Leave
For appointees on Terms of Service I or Bands G to J appointed on or after January 1, 2002: 22 days per year for the first 10 years’ service and 26 days per year for 10 years’ service or more.
For Appointees on Terms of Service I (Clinical Medical Staff): 21 days per year for the first 10 years’ service and 28 days per year for 10 years’ service or more.
For appointees on Terms of Service II or Bands B to F appointed on or after January 1, 2002: 18 days per year for the first 10 years’ service and 22 days per year for 10 years’ service or more.
For appointees on Terms of Service III or Bands A appointed on or after January 1, 2002: 14 days per year for the first 10 years’ service and 18 days per year for 10 years’ service or more.
Application to take annual leave should be submitted to the person so designated in appointees’ letters of appointment.
Professional Leave
Appointees on tenure/substantive/fixed terms and Post-doctoral Fellows may be granted up to 60, 14 or 7 days (depending on the respective Terms of Service) of professional leave per year for academic and research activities.
Sabbatical Leave
Professoriate staff on tenure/substantive/fixed terms is eligible to apply for sabbatical leave for academic and research purposes. Sabbatical leave is accumulated at the rate of one-month leave per six month of service and may be granted for a period of up to one year. Authority to approve sabbatical leave application shall rest with the Faculty Human Resource Committee.
Leave for Primary Caretaking
An appointee who has been employed under a continuous contract (defined as employment for a minimum period of 4 consecutive weeks with not less than 18 working hours in each week) and who has used up his/her annual leave (i.e. inclusive of full year leave entitlement and untaken leave that carried forward from previous year) may be granted up to one week (5 working days / 7 consecutive calendar days) of paid leave per year to take care of the illness of an immediate family member, viz. spouse, child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandparent-in-law, brother and sister; or the needs of a child with clinically significant developmental concerns.
Applicants should submit their leave application, together with the supporting documents such as a medical certificate or documentation confirming the illness or medical condition of the immediate family member, for approval by the Head of Department before the leave commences.
Maternity Leave
Appointees employed under a continuous contract (defined as employment for a minimum of 4 consecutive weeks with not less than 18 hours worked in each week) immediately before the commencement of maternity leave shall be entitled to a continuous period of 14 weeks of maternity leave.
Application of maternity leave should be submitted to the Director of the Human Resources, together with a medical certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner certifying the pregnancy and specifying the expected date of confinement, not later than 3 months before the estimated date of confinement.
Paternity Leave
Appointees who have been employed under a continuous contract (defined as employment for a minimum period of 4 consecutive weeks with not less than 18 working hours in each week) and who are the father of a new-born child or a father-to-be are entitled to 7 days paternity leave for each confinement of his spouse/partner.
The authority for approval of paternity leave shall be the Head of Department. Applicants should submit their leave application with supporting documents indicating the expected date of delivery at least 3 months before the start of leave.
Sick Leave
Application for sick leave should be submitted to Head of Department who is authorized by the Council to grant sick leave, up to the amount which attracts full pay and allowances as stated in the relevant clause governing sick leave and invaliding in the applicable Conditions of Service booklet. Application for sick leave for 5 days or more must be accompanied by a certificate signed by registered medical practitioner. For applications for sick leave for 4 days or less, the Head of Department may also require an appointee to produce a medical certificate.
Compassionate Leave
For all appointees: Compassionate leave of up to 2 working days may be granted to an appointee on the death of an immediate family member viz. spouse, child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandparent-in-law, brother and sister.
Leave for Jury Service
An appointee who is called by the Registrar of the High Court for jury service is hereby authorised to be absent from duty, with full pay, for the whole period of the service. He shall notify his Head of Department and the Director of Human Resources of the period involved.
Leave for Auxiliary Defence Services
Provided that it does not interfere with their University duties, there is no objection to appointees joining the Hong Kong Auxiliary Defence Services, viz. the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force, the Government Flying Service Auxiliary Section, the Civil Aid Services, or the Auxiliary Medical Service. Where leave is required for auxiliary service training, an appointee is required to apply for annual leave/long leave for this purpose. If an appointee is "called out" for emergency duties he should notify his Head of Department and the Director of Human Resources of the period involved.