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A receptionist, a janitor and an assistant accountant. Photos: SCMP

As civil servants get HK$17,500 a month benefit, we compare 10 Hong Kong monthly job salaries to the government workers allowance

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 HK$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 HK$17,500 monthly benefit on average could pay for the salary of an assistant accountant in Hong Kong (HK$17,250 per month), an accounts payable clerk (HK$11,000 per month) or a credit analyst (HK$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 (HK$16,250 per month) and equal to that of a human resources officer with at least three years experience (HK$18,750 per month).

On average, both designers and merchandisers in Hong Kong (about HK$20,000 per month) earn only a bit more than the non-accountable cash allowance, according to the same report, as do programmers (also HK$20,000 per month).

Meanwhile, a receptionist in the city earns only about HK$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 HK$7,843 a month, less than half the average monthly benefit.

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