Equal opportunities

Fair treatment and respect are conducive to a diverse, harmonious and productive working environment. The University strives to provide equal opportunities and eliminate any form of discrimination or harassment against staff regardless of age, gender, race, language, religion, disability, sexual orientation, family status or any other personal characteristics. Candidates’ qualifications, experiences and skills are taken into consideration when making employment and promotion decisions.

Aptly demonstrating our commitment to social integration, operation contracts with on-campus retail stores include clear terms to ensure that at least one-third of the store staff must be employees with disabilities. Protected by equal employment opportunities, they are able to enhance their practical and interpersonal skills by interacting with customers and colleagues.

Welfare and benefits

PolyU is dedicated to providing staff with enjoyable and rewarding career paths. To attract and retain talents, the University offers attractive remuneration packages, welfare and benefits, skills training and career advancement opportunities. Employees are entitled to medical insurance, retirement benefits, compassionate leave, maternity and paternity leave and leave for staff development. The University conducts annual performance appraisals to review staff performance, facilitate staff development and the development of units and offices. This practice also allows the University to recognise outstanding staff members for their commitment and invaluable contributions.

Internal communication

PolyU engages staff proactively in positive communication, seeking to strengthen the shared vision and common understanding of the PolyU community so we can move ahead together as a united team.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Staff Association (PUSA), a registered trade union for full-time staff, represents staff’s interests both at the general level and those related to conditions of service. PUSA helps express members’ views and concerns during regular liaison meetings with the University’s leadership team and the Human Resources Office. Working with other units of the University to organise staff activities, PUSA strives to highlight the importance of maintaining work-life balance, and at the same time enhances staff awareness for various socio-political and environmental issues around the world.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Staff Club (Staff Club) organises a wide spectrum of sports and cultural activities for club members and the University community. In 2019/20, Staff Club partnered with external businesses to offer more than 50 membership privileges and provided quality food and services at the Staff Club Restaurant.

Training and development

PolyU recognises the importance of a supportive intellectual environment towards maintaining a committed and competent workforce. All levels of staff are encouraged to participate in training and development programmes to upgrade their subject knowledge and personal skills. PolyU also motivates staff to strive for continued excellence through recognising and rewarding individuals who have made notable contributions to the University’s continuous development.

Staff training

Aiming to keep our staff abreast of the latest education and research trends, PolyU supports a culture of continuous learning to ensure that they possess the competence required for providing a holistic education service and developing insightful research. The University encourages staff to participate in external training programmes through the provision of educational subsidies and staff development leave.

Face-to-face and online internal staff training opportunities were provided throughout the year, covering a broad range of topics, such as languages, communication skills, legal knowledge, management skills, mental wellness and occupational health and safety (OHS). Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University has been supporting staff with a large number of training materials related to online learning and teaching, including online support clinics, e-newsletters, instructional videos, staff development webinars and practical guidelines. A teaching website was designed to support teaching staff on how to create interactive online courses and conduct e-assessments.

Staff recognition

PolyU strives to recognise and motivate staff members who have made exceptional contributions to the strategic and operational endeavours of the University under a two-tier award system. Entries are first nominated and evaluated by assessment panels for the first-tier awards—“Faculty/School Awards for Outstanding Performance/Achievement” and “Outstanding Performance/Achievement Awards for Non-academic staff”. Winners of the first-tier awards will then be eligible for nomination of the second-tier awards—“The President’s Awards for Excellent Performance/Achievement”—which are regarded as the highest accolades for our staff.

Since the 2015/16 financial year, “The President’s Awards for Excellent Performance/Achievement” have been organised on a biannual basis. During the reporting year, the University was proud to present the Individual awards to Dr Shirley Ngai and Dr Fridolin Ting under the Teaching category and Dr Chai Yang and Prof. Jin Wei under the Research and Scholarly Activities category. The Team Awards were presented to the University Research Facility in 3D Printing, Industrial Centre, and Facilities Management Office under the Services (Non-academic staff) category.

Awardees of “The President’s Awards for Excellent Performance/Achievement"