多

： 則
曰 ，
子 餘 行
。 其 慎
祿 言 ，
干 慎 殆 寡
學 ， 闕 言 中
張 疑 見 。 其
子 闕 多 of 悔
Management Difficult
在 Staff
聞 尤。 則寡 ，祿
寡 餘， 寡悔
其 ，行
尤 。
矣
 焉 。
Difficult Staff ， 必 察
好 之
。 眾
察 焉
， 必
- Slow learning
惡 之
： 眾
曰 子曰
子- Absenteeism
不能 ：苟正
- Poor Manner 正其 / Attitude
其身
身， 矣，
如正 于從
- Substandard Performance 人何 政乎
？ 何有
？
- Others
• HRPM
– Human Resources Policies Manual

• HRAM
– Human Resources Administration Manual
J1 Discipline
J1.4 Disciplinary Procedures for Minor Offences

J1.4.1
(a) Counseling
(b) Warning
(c) Deductions of Wages
(d) Stoppage or Deferment of Increment

J1.4.2 Repeated Minor Offences

Gross Misconduct (J1.5)
J1.5 Disciplinary Procedures for Gross Misconduct
J1.5.2 Investigation
- verbal or written warning,
- stoppage or deferment of increment
- deduction of wages to the extent permitted by the
Employment Ordinance
- dismissal from service
- other action as may be appropriate
- convene a Committee of Inquiry
J1.5.3 Committee of Inquiry
- verbal or written warning,
- stoppage or deferment of increment
- deduction of wages to the extent permitted by the
Employment Ordinance
- dismissal from service
- such other action that the Committee considers appropriate.
J1.6 Disciplinary Procedures for Unsatisfactory Performance

An employee who is alleged to have shown unsatisfactory

performance despite where appropriate counseling and
coaching will be subject to the disciplinary procedure set
out below.

The procedure for gross misconduct under J1.5.2 to J1.5.3

above is also applicable to unsatisfactory performance.

May recommend a further review period for the employee

to improve.
 J1.7 Suspension

Pending disciplinary action, the employee may be suspended

from part of his duties, and may or may not be required to
perform other duties.
A) Examples of Acts of Gross Misconduct

1. Convicted of a criminal offence which is an offence punishable

by Imprisonment
2. Absent from duty without permission or reasonable excuse
3. Wilful refusal to work or carry out reasonable work instructions
4. Unauthorised disclosure of confidential or proprietary
information whether or not obtained in the employee’s official
capacity to any individual or the public (including the media)
5. Unauthorised access to confidential or restricted information
related to patients, the HA or its hospitals, including patient
records and personnel records
6. Wilful falsification or tampering with the Hospital Authority’s
records
7. Theft
8. Misappropriation of funds
9. Declared bankrupt
10. Willingly consenting or committing an act endangering the
life, health or safety of a patient or colleague in the course
of performing his duties
11. Unauthorised drawing of drugs
12. Possession, use or trafficking in illegal drugs on Hospital
Authority’s premises
13. Unauthorised use of patient’s or Hospital Authority’s
property
14. Working under the influence of alcohol
15. Unlawful betting or gambling on the Hospital Authority’s
premises
16. Fighting or intimidation including provoking or instigating a
fight or assault
17. Soliciting advantages from patients or patients’ family
members or relatives
18. Lending money at interest
19. Acting on behalf of a money-lender
20. Borrowing money at interest except from licensed institutions
21. Use of subordinates as guarantors
22. Moral turpitude
23. Repeated minor offences
24. Undertaking unauthorized outside work which involves conflict
of interest
25. Breach of professional ethics or standards
26. Giving false personal information in relation to employment

(B) Examples of Unsatisfactory Performance

1. Unsatisfactory or negligent performance at a level below the

normal where acceptable standard and requirements for the job
despite appropriate counselling and coaching
e.g.(a)poor quality/standard of work/output/negligence
(b) inefficiency
 K3 INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION
K3.1 Objective

K3.1.1 It is the objective of the HA to handle involuntary

terminations fairly and equitably and in conformance
with the employment legislation in Hong Kong.

K3.2 Types of Involuntary Termination

K3.2.1 Involuntary termination of service may be initiated by

the management in the following circumstances :
(a) during probation;
(b) for reasons of poor health;
(c) gross misconduct;
(d) unsatisfactory performance; and
(e) redundancy.
K3.5 Involuntary Termination for Gross Misconduct and
Unsatisfactory Performance
K3.5.1 The HA may dismiss an employee without period of notice or
payment in lieu and accrued benefits (except annual leave
accrued on the completion of a leave year) after due process of
inquiry, if the employee has committed gross misconduct in
relation to his employment or has shown unsatisfactory
performance despite appropriate counseling and coaching.
K3.5.2 Disciplinary actions to be followed in case an employee has
committed gross misconduct or has shown unsatisfactory
performance despite appropriate counseling and coaching are
detailed in Section J.
K3.5.3 An employee who is continuously absent from work for more
than seven consecutive working days without permission or
reasonable excuse will be considered to have absconded and is
liable to be dismissed, without the need for formal disciplinary
proceedings.
http://hr.home/site/home.html
Performance
Improvement
Plan
Professional Review Panel
 While dealing with poor
performance can be time
consuming, failing to address poor
performance sends a clear
message to other employees that
you have unique standards for
poor performers and that they
Dealing with poor
need not meet your performance
performance can
expectations. With staff cutbacks,
be time consuming.
it is critical that all employees
My time is better
produce, and ignoring poor
spent supervising
performance by some staff can no
my productive
longer be tolerated. Poor
employees.
performance usually only gets
worse over time - rarely does it
correct itself without action on the
part of the supervisor.
 Actually, taking such action
can have just the opposite
effect. Most employees want
and expect to be held
accountable for their work and
If I take action against resent it when others do not
one employee, “pull their weight”. Building a
it will lower morale productive team can begin by
among other setting clear expectations and
employees and addressing failure to meet
create a less those expectations.
productive work
environment.
 Very few individuals enjoy
criticizing others, as a result, most
employees receive little or no
negative feedback from their
supervisors. Constructive
counseling given early and
regularly not only often leads to
Telling employees performance improvement but
that they are not also eliminates the need to
performing consider more formal action that is
satisfactorily is even more unpleasant. Providing
unpleasant and such counseling does not require
requires special special skills.
human relations - Your expectations
skills. - The employee’s performance standards
- Critical element(s) where the employee
is failing
- What the employee must do to bring
performance to an acceptable level
 Many performance problems can
be addressed prior to undertaking
any formal action. Furthermore,
the procedural steps are actually
fairly straightforward and not that
complicated.
The procedural
steps involved in
addressing poor
performance are
complex and
highly technical.
 Most performance-based actions
are not appealed and, when they
are, they have to justify
themselves

If I do take a formal
performance-
based action, it is
likely to be
appealed and
ultimately
overturned
 The same reasons it makes sense
for you to address poor
performance should
make sense to your supervisors

Top management
will not support me
if I do take action
to address poor
performance.
 Slow Learner
-Be patient
-Be encouraging
-Train simple and easy task first
-Be more understandable
-Set time frame to finish the task
-Seek agreement
-Enough supervision to give encouragement/confidence
 Poor Learning Attitude
-Ask for the reason behind
-Show concerns
-Insist the task is basic skills that all staff should know
-State consequence if fail to acquire that skills
-Seek agreement
-Set time frame to learn
-Be firm and encouraging throughout the interview
 DO DON’T
• Agree common • Set difficult objective
objectives • Provide ambiguous
• Set the parameters guideline
• Assign important task • Delegate
• Empower with meaningless task
continuous support • Remove support
• Help people think & • Decide for the staff
decide • Blame staff for
• Be positive about mistakes
improvement • Give overload
• Give feedback in easy feedback
& digestible way
 The Douglas Factors
• The Merit Systems Protection Board in its
landmark decision, Douglas vs. Veterans
Administration, 5 MSPR 280, established
criteria that supervisors must consider in
determining an appropriate penalty to
impose for an act of employee
misconduct. These twelve factors are
commonly referred to as “Douglas
Factors”
 The Douglas Factors
• Factor 1 – Seriousness of the Offense
• Factor 2 – The Employee’s Position
• Factor 3 - Prior Discipline
• Factor 4: Length of Service and Prior Work Record
• Factor 5 – Erosion of Supervisory Confidence
• Factor 6 – Disparate Treatment - Consistency of
Penalty with that Imposed on Other Employees.
• Factor 7 – Consistency with Agency Penalty Guide
• Factor 8 – Notoriety
• Factor 9 - Clarity of Notice
• Factor – 10 Potential for Rehabilitation
• Factor 11 - Mitigating Circumstances
• Factor 12 - Adequacy and Effectiveness of
Alternative Sanctions
 故上兵伐謀，其次伐交，
其次伐兵，其下攻城。
是故百戰百勝，非善之善也﹔
不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也。
故知勝有五：
知可以戰與不可以戰者勝，
識眾寡之用者勝，
上下同欲者勝，
以虞待不虞者勝，
將能而君不御者勝。
此五者，知勝之道也 。
 Case 1: Phlebotomist

• New recruit
• On probation period
• Duty 06:30 – 16:30
• Missing on duty – 11:00, 2/1/09 (Friday)
• Loss of contact till 14:50
• Interview done
 Case 2: Nursing Officer, Appt. 1991

• Found: stealing canned milk

• SNM was informed: 28/7/08
• Admitted: from time to time x 3 months
• Excuse: father is on RT feeding because of
eating difficult
• Past performance:
• effective
• unwilling to take responsibility
 Case 3: Registered Nurse, Appt. 3/98

• Poor attitude
• Substandard performance
• Involved in multiple medication incidents
• Absent from duty
• Bizarre behaviour
 Case 3: Registered Nurse, Appt. 3/98
• Blood transfusion – near miss: 7/2000
• Medication Incident: 8/2000
• Missed signature on MAR: 22/10/2000
• Absent from duty: 10/2000
• Missed to administer medications: 10/2000
• Medication Incident: 2/2001
• Medication Incident: 6/2001
• Medication Incident: 9/2001
• Recorded interviews by SNM (before 15/10/01)
– 5/2/01 – Duty arrangement, Medication error
– 15/6/01 - Medication error
• Written Warning: 16/6/01 (then extended review
period to 15/12/02, 15/6/03)
• Internal Inquiry Board: 10/2001
 Case 3: Registered Nurse, Appt. 3/98
• Interview for poor performance: 4/12/01, 22/1/02, 13/3/02,
21/6/02, 26/6/02, 2/7/02, 28/11/02, 8/12/03, 12/1/04, 30/3/04
• Notification of Unacceptable Performance to HRD: 11/02
– Absent from duty
– 4 medication incidents 7/02 to 10/02
– Poor communications with staff / clients
– Conflicts with colleagues
– Nil remorse, no improvement
• Report of poor performance on duty hand-over and
documentation to COS: 12/02
• Report of Substandard and Unacceptable Performance to
HRD: 6/03
• Committee of Inquiry: June 03, July 03
– 2 medication incidents
– 32 incidents – poor working attitude, incompetence in discharging
nursing duties, non-compliance to standards, negligence
 Case 3: Registered Nurse, Appt. 3/98

Summary Report on Work Performance

6/03 – 4/04

- AOM – 3 incidents – 10/03, 12/03, 4/04

- Case Management – 1/04, 2/04, 2/04, 2/04, 3/04,
3/04, 3/04
- Attitude – 10/03, 11/03, 12/03, 1/04, 1/04
- Integrity & Trustworthiness – sick leave (MR x 7),
urgent leave, absent from duty, hand-over false
info
Case 4: Ward Attendant (GS), Appt 8/80

Poor Attitude
Indecent appearance
Foul Language
Inappropriate communication
Late for duty
Non-compliance to IC measures
Substandard performance
 Case 4: Ward Attendant (GS), Appt 8/80

Recorded Interview by SNM

- 18/9/02, 4/2/03, 3/9/03, 22/4/04, 20/7/04, 24/2/05, 9/9/05, 15/5/06
Verbal Warning: 2/2004
Written Warning: 4/11/05
Written Warning: 23/3/06
prima facie case of formal disciplinary action: Aug 2006
SCSD supported taking of formal disciplinary action: Apr 2007
書面忠告(CSR
書面忠告 233) by HRD: 14/5/07
勸誡信 by HRD: 25/7/07
Formal Disciplinary Action by DH: 24/8/07 &
Referred to SCSD: 29/8/07
View of Dept of Justice: Charges 10 out of 16
Inquiry Hearing 15/2/08
 Case 4: Ward Attendant (GS), Appt 8/80
10 Charges
• Improper hand-washing (Charges No.6, 7, 10,
11 and 16)

• Improper handling of dirty linen (Charge No.12)

• Ignoring calls by nurses/patients (Charge No.13-

14)

• Failure to return keys (Charges No.8-9)

Document Requested by DH/ SCSD
• Rules & Regulations
• Polices / Guidelines
• Written / Verbal Instruction
• Poster
• Training / Documentation
• Interviewing record
• Witness Statement
• Layout Plan
• Photos of vinyl gloves / black plastic gloves
Case 5: Registered Nurse, Appt 15/2/97

• Frequent IOD since 11/1997

• Light duty / no night duty
• Persistent Substandard performance
• Poor attitude
• Failure to follow instruction
• Multiple complaint
• Poor integrity
• Poor teamwork
Case 5: Registered Nurse, Appt 15/2/97
• Re-deployment: A9, B8P, B8, SMS, A10, G5
• Verbal Warning: 7/2002
• Recorded interview by SNM:
– 10/7/2000, 30/8/02, 2/9/02, 30/10/02, 12/2/04, 13/4/04,
17/2/05
• Court trial 9/2006 x 9 days, 16/5/07 re-opened,
closing submission 18/6/07,
• Court Judgment: 3/8/07
– conclusion: The plaintiff’s claim is dismissed
• Complaint Case: 15/10/07
 Case 6: Enrolled Nurse, Appt 1995

- No rotation since 1st recruitment

- Maintains effective performance
- Neglects teamwork
- Creates Conflict
- Accuses always
- Makes Complaints

Outcome:
 Case 7: Registered Nurse, Appt. 7/04

• Slow learner
• Incompetent in all aspects
• Attempted to terminate services by other
Dept.
• T/I on 4/05

Outcome:
 Case 8: Nursing Officer, Appt. 1994

• Outspoken
• Argumentative
• Confronting
• Forceful
• Irritating

Outcome:
 其安易持，其未兆易謀。
其脆易泮，其微易散。
為之於未有，治之於未亂。
合抱之木，生於毫末。
九層之臺，起於累土。
千里之行，始於足下。

打遏於萌芽階段
 Q&A
THANK YOU!