BEN WESTCOTT BEN.WESTCOTT@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 02 September, 2015, 7:01am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 02 September, 2015, 12:19pm
A receptionist, a janitor and an assistant accountant. Photos: SCMP
Do you work as a receptionist, janitor or assistant accountant in Hong Kong? If so, you might want to consider a career change to the civil service – government workers are earning your monthly salary just in one allowance.
The non-accountable cash allowance, a housing benefit package given to an estimated 4,000 civil servants in 2015, currently totals HK$839 million or $17,500 a month per worker on average.
While some experts defend the salary incentive as a good way to attract high-quality workers, there are many professions where it equals their entire monthly earnings.
According to the Robert Half 2015 salary guide, a $17,500 monthly benefit on average could pay for the salary of an assistant accountant in Hong Kong ($17,250 per month), an accounts payable clerk ($11,000 per month) or a credit analyst ($19,000 per month).
Meanwhile the Michael Page 2014 salary guide puts the average monthly allowance at more than the salary of an entry-level law clerk ($16,250 per month) and equal to that of a human resources officer with at least three years experience ($18,750 per month).
On average, both designers and merchandisers in Hong Kong (about $20,000 per month) earn only a bit more than the non-accountable cash allowance, according to the same report, as do programmers (also $20,000 per month).
Meanwhile, a receptionist in the city earns only about $14,160 per month, according to a Morgan McKinley salary report, far below the average monthly non-accountable cash allowance.
Finally, according to the Hong Kong government’s website, a local cleaner who works in pest control and cleaning services will earn $7,843 dollars a month, less than half the average monthly benefit.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1854546/compare-10-hong-kong-monthly-job-salaries-civil-service
