Gov’t rejects claims of ‘invisible overtime’ in civil service

[Photo Yuki Lei]

The Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau (SAFP) has refuted allegations of widespread unpaid, unreported overtime among Macau’s civil servants, stating that government departments may already communicate with staff on work matters based on actual needs and reasonably arrange off-hours services, with relevant personnel receiving overtime compensation in accordance with the law.

Lawmaker Chan Hao Weng raised concerns in a written inquiry about the erosion of civil servants’ right to disconnect and the prevalence of unpaid “invisible overtime.” He noted that “many leaders and supervisors habitually issue non-urgent work instructions via messaging apps after work or during holidays, and force employees to respond immediately – leading to a large amount of unpaid overtime.” Employees who delay their responses, he added, “are easily labeled as insubordinate or negligent.”

He went on to state that for many years inquiries and recommendations for improvements have been raised regarding issues such as the infringement of civil servants’ right to offline rest and unpaid overtime, but the authorities – until a response early this month from the SAFP’s Leong Weng In – had yet to provide any effective response or resolution.

In a written reply, SAFP director Leong reiterated that civil servants have duties of obedience and loyalty and must carry out tasks as instructed by superiors, including during off-hours in the case of urgent or unexpected work. However, she made clear that if a department requires staff to work outside regular office hours, it must manage and approve attendance and overtime through the “Gongwutong” platform and provide overtime compensation in accordance with the law.

In her reply, Leong acknowledged that such situations – particularly standby duty – are more common in the security sector, noting that the relevant system applies to cases where standby arrangements are necessary due to regular operational needs. For the security sector, where personnel must handle continuous and unexpected tasks, staff receive supplementary monthly remuneration. According to the statement, the security sector also indicated that unless a task must be handled by specific personnel and is urgent, it will be assigned to officers on duty.

Leong stated that the government has no plans to issue separate work guidelines, adding that existing regulations already provide clear rules on working hours, rest periods, overtime, standby systems, and corresponding compensation.

“Civil servants should carry out their work with dedication and a sense of responsibility. Department leaders and supervisors should adopt a humanistic management approach, maintain good communication with staff, and make reasonable arrangements based on actual needs and circumstances to balance departmental work requirements with employees’ need for rest.”