Issue 38 (10/2016)
Table of Contents
Overview of Complaint Handling Procedures
Publication of Disciplinary Orders
Work Report
Statistics
Information
Invitation for Contribution of Articles
Overview of Complaint Handling Procedures
Social Workers Registration Board (the Board) is a statutory body established under the Social Workers Registration Ordinance (the Ordinance). One of the functions of the Board is to deal with the disciplinary offences of registered social workers (RSWs) in accordance with the Ordinance. As of the deadline of this newsletter, the Board has received 436 complaints about RSWs being suspected to have committed disciplinary offences since its establishment, among which disciplinary hearings were conducted for 86 cases. Through this article, we hope that RSWs would have a better understanding about the complaint handling mechanism of the Board, their rights and responsibilities in the disciplinary procedures.
To lodge a complaint
If any person would like to lodge a complaint against an RSW who is alleged to commit misconduct or negligence in any professional respect, the person is required to lodge the complaint in the specified Complaint Form of the Board. The complainant should be identifiable and the complaint should be addressed to the Registrar. Other forms of complaint, such as oral complaint or email complaint, will not be accepted.
To handle a complaint
Upon receipt of the Complaint Form, the Registrar will verify the identity of the RSW being complained. The complaint will be referred to two Board Members for initial consideration. The two Board Members will decide whether the case (in whole or in part) should be referred to the Board. If the two Board Members decide to refer the complaint to the Board, the Board will appoint a disciplinary committee to conduct a disciplinary hearing for the complaint.
If the two Board members decide that no case should be referred to the Board after consideration in accordance of the Ordinance, the complaint will be dismissed. The Registrar will notify the complainant about the decision and the reason of dismissal.
To conduct a disciplinary hearing
After the complaint is referred to the Board, the Board will appoint five members from the Disciplinary Committee Panel to form an independent Disciplinary Committee to conduct the disciplinary hearing. No Board Member will be included in the Disciplinary Committee. Among these five Disciplinary Committee Members, no less than three or no more than four are RSWs while the others are lay members.
The RSW being complained will be notified by the Registrar about the disciplinary procedures and the composition of the Disciplinary Committee so appointed for the hearing. The RSW being complained will also be given 28 days’ notice of the date, time and place of the hearing.
The disciplinary hearing is usually conducted in camera. During the hearing, both the complainant and the RSW being complained are entitled:
a) to obtain any documents or other evidences produced by the opposite party or other witnesses before the hearing;
b) to attend the hearing and hear all evidences produced at the hearing;
c) to call witness and produce any documents or other evidences at the hearing;
d) to examine the opposite party, any witnesses, and documents or other evidences produced at the hearing; and
e) to legal representation.
Decision
The Disciplinary Committee, after considering all evidences adduced and any other relevant information available, will decide whether:
a) the RSW being complained is not guilty of the disciplinary offence and recommend to the Board that the complaint be dismissed; OR
b) the RSW being complained is guilty of the disciplinary offence and recommend an appropriate disciplinary order to the Board.
If the Disciplinary Committee decides that the RSW being complained is guilty of the disciplinary offence, the Disciplinary Committee will hear the plea of mitigation and the reasons thereof that the RSW being complained before recommending any disciplinary order to the Board.
The Board, after considering the recommendation of the Disciplinary Committee, the reasons in support thereof, any evidence in respect thereof, and all relevant circumstances relating thereto, will decide whether:
(a) to endorse the report; or
(b) to refer the complaint back to the Disciplinary Committee which has reported thereon for further investigation; or
(c) to appoint another Disciplinary Committee for further investigation
Where the Board has decided that the RSW being complained has committed a disciplinary offence, the Board shall issue one of the following disciplinary orders to the said RSW after considering the recommendation of the Disciplinary Committee and other relevant circumstances relating thereto:
(a) remove the name of the RSW from the Register permanently;
(b) remove the name of the RSW from the Register for such period (not being more than 5 years) as the Board thinks fit;
(c) reprimand the RSW in writing and record the reprimand on the Register; or
(d) (d) order that the Chairperson of the Board admonish the RSW orally.
After making the final decision by the Board, the Registrar will deliver the decision of the Board and any disciplinary order to the RSW being complained personally or by registered mail.
Appeal
If the RSW being complained is aggrieved by the Board’s decision or the disciplinary order issued, he/she may appeal to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal can confirm, quash or change the decision or disciplinary order made by the Board.
Issue and Publication of Disciplinary Orders
After the expiry of the period of appeal (i.e. three months), or after the ruling of the Court of Appeal to confirm or to change the disciplinary order in the case of an appeal, the Board shall issue the disciplinary order to the RSW being complained, and shall publish a copy of the order (except oral admonition) in at least one English and one Chinese language newspaper published daily and circulating generally in Hong Kong, or in other publication or manner as the Board thinks fit in accordance with Sections 32(1)(a) and 32(2) of the Ordinance.
Conclusion
The Board shall always abide by the provisions of the Ordinance, and handle each complaint in a fair and just manner.
Social Workers Registration Board (the Board) had conducted disciplinary hearing and issued disciplinary order for a complaint case. The case involved five RSWs of an agency and one service user. After considering all evidences adduced and other relevant information available, the Disciplinary Committee decided that three RSWs were found guilty of the disciplinary offences. It was because the RSWs being complained captured the image of the service user in video recording and provided such video to the Police without obtaining prior consent from the service user. The three RSWs being complained did not properly protect the interests of the service user. Therefore, the three RSWs have committed misconduct or negligence in professional respect, and committed disciplinary offences in accordance with Section 25(1)(a) of the Social Workers Registration Ordinance (the Ordinance). Pursuant to Section 30(1)(d) of the Ordinance, the Board orally admonished two of the RSWs; and pursuant to section 30(1)(c) of the Ordinance, the Board reprimanded one RSW in writing. The reprimand record was kept in the Register for one year. Pursuant to Sections 32(1)(a) and 32(2) of the Ordinance, a copy of the reprimand was published in at least one English and one Chinese language newspaper circulating generally in Hong Kong.
Qualification Recognition Assessment for Social Work Qualification
Upgrade of the Board’s Website
Since the establishment of the Board, a website was setup to publish all kinds of information. To accommodate the needs of different people, the Board is upgrading its website to meet the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA Standard. All images, font size or colour on the website will be adjusted to cater for the needs of different people. Furthermore, the structure and design of the website will also be improved to fit the aspect ratio of different electronic devices such as computers, smart phones, tablets etc. The revamping work is expected to complete by the end of this year and more convenient online experience would be provided to users.
Annual Meeting with Registered Social Workers
The Annual Meeting with Registered Social Workers was held on 11 November at the Board Office. During the evening, apart from Board Members reported the works of the Board in the past year, a thematic talk was also conducted. The theme of this year was “Challenges faced by registered social workers under the new social environment”.
Post Distribution of registered social workers
（2）Complaints
Number of RSWs having activated their user accounts：1,335
Change of Convenor of Committee on Professional Conduct
From 27 June 2016, Mr. Wong Ka Ming deputized Mr. Tsang Kin Chiu as the Acting Convenor of the Committee on Professional Conduct until further notice.
Personnel change
Mr. Thomas Leung, Registrar, has left his post from 1st December 2016 and is succeeded by Mr. Eric Lee. The Board would like to extend our gratitude towards Mr. Leung’s service over the years, and wish him all the best in the future!
To encourage RSWs’ participation in the Newsletter, and to provide opportunity for colleagues to express their views on social work profession, colleagues are welcome to contribute articles. Please note the following rules when doing so:
Appointment of Co-opted Members for Committee on Qualification Assessment and Registration
To widely collect opinions from social work colleagues and allow more colleagues with the aspiration to participate in the work of the Board, invitation letters were sent to RSWs in May this year to invite nominations of RSWs to join the Committee on Qualification Assessment and Registration as co-opted members to assist the Board to perform relevant works. Twelve nominations were received. Dr. Chu Chi Keung, Dr. Kwok Ngai Kuen and Ms. Law Yi Ming have been appointed as the co-opted members of the Committee on Qualification Assessment and Registration after deliberation. Besides, to have opinions from different professions, the Board has also appointed Mr. Ip Kim Ching, a clinical psychologist, as co-opted member. The tenure of office of the above members will be until 15 January 2019.
Appointment of Assessment Panel Members for Recognizing Social Work Qualifications for the new term
According to the current mechanism of social work qualification assessment, the programmes leading to the social work qualifications being recognized by the Board must undergo qualification recognition assessment or review. The assessment or review will be conducted by the Assessment Team for Recognizing Social Work Qualification. The Board will appoint five members from the Assessment Panel Members to form an assessment team, including one local social work academic, one overseas social work academic, one social work professional, one representative of employing agency and one from other professionals. Since the tenure of some Assessment Panel Members will expire at the end of this year, the Board has already started the nomination appointment procedures of the new term in May 2016. Apart from inviting current members to extend their terms of appointment, the Board also sent letters to invite social work colleagues, tertiary institutions, employing agencies and other professional bodies to nominate suitable candidates to participate in the work of the Assessment Panel. As of the deadline of this newsletter, the Board has received seventeen nominations. After the appointment procedures are completed, the Board will publish the list of the Assessment Panel of the new term by the end of the year on its website.
Appointment of Disciplinary Committee Panel Members for the New Term
The current term of the Disciplinary Committee Panel will expire on 15 January 2017. Apart from inviting the current panel members to extend their terms of appointment, the Board would like to attract more members from the social work field and other professionals to join the Disciplinary Committee Panel. Therefore, the Board has also sent letters to social work colleagues and other professional bodies in May this year to invite them to nominate suitable RSWs and candidates from other professionals to join the Disciplinary Committee Panel. After the appointment procedures are completed, the list of the Disciplinary Committee Panel of the new term will be gazetted and published on the Board’s website before mid-January 2017.
Report of Promotional Works
From April 2016 to the deadline of this newsletter, staff of the Board Office has visited the following tertiary institutions to introduce the works of the Board to social work students:
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Final year): 19
Hong Kong Baptist University (First year): 33
The University of Hong Kong (Final year): 24
Community College of City University (Final year): 78
The Education University of Hong Kong (Final year): 51
Hong Kong College of Technology (Final year): 34
Caritas Institute of Higher Education (Final year): 119
Hong Kong Baptist University (Final year): 33
The University of Hong Kong (Final year): 93
Total number of participants: 484
Receiving visitors
From April 2016 to the deadline of this newsletter, the Board has received the following group visits:
- 天津市人力社保系統窗口建設質量管理赴港培訓班
- 青海公共服務建設與民生保障赴港培訓班
- 河南師範大學社會事業學院社會工作系
Qualification Recognition Assessment for Social Work Qualification
From April 2016 to the deadline of this newsletter, the Board has completed the following qualification recognition assessments and reviews:
- Higher Diploma in Social Work conferred by Hong Kong Community College of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University [Qualification Recognition Assessment]
- Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) conferred by Caritas Institute of Higher Education [Qualification Recognition Assessment]
- Bachelor of Social Science in Social Work and Master of Social Science in Social Work conferred by The Chinese University of Hong Kong [Qualification Recognition Review]
Upgrade of the Board’s Website
Since the establishment of the Board, a website was setup to publish all kinds of information. To accommodate the needs of different people, the Board is upgrading its website to meet the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA Standard. All images, font size or colour on the website will be adjusted to cater for the needs of different people. Furthermore, the structure and design of the website will also be improved to fit the aspect ratio of different electronic devices such as computers, smart phones, tablets etc. The revamping work is expected to complete by the end of this year and more convenient online experience would be provided to users.
Annual Meeting with Registered Social Workers
The Annual Meeting with Registered Social Workers was held on 11 November at the Board Office. During the evening, apart from Board Members reported the works of the Board in the past year, a thematic talk was also conducted. The theme of this year was “Challenges faced by registered social workers under the new social environment”.
(As at 30 November 2016)
(1) Registered Social Workers
Gender distribution of RSWs
Male: 6,330
Female: 14,943
Total: 21,273
Qualification of registered social workers
Recognized Degree: 13,650
Recognized Diploma: 7,527
Others: 96
Total: 21,273
Post Distribution of registered social workers
Social Workers Post: 14,476
Non-social Workers Post: 6,797
Total: 21,273
（2）Complaints
Number of complaints received since the establishment of the Board: 436
Number of disciplinary inquiries conducted since the establishment of the Board:86
（3）Statistics on usage of Online System for the Voluntary Continuing Professional Development Scheme for Registered Social Workers (VCPD Scheme)
Number of RSWs having activated their user accounts：1,335
Number of RSWs having CPD records in their account*：4,179
*Given that the CPD records can be input by RSWs or CPD organizers, the number of RSWs having CPD records is generally greater than the number of RSWs having activated their user accounts.
Each RSW has been provided login user name and password for login to the online system for the VCPD Scheme, you are welcome to login and update your personal CPD records. For those who have forgotten their usernames and/or passwords, please contact the Board Office for re-issue by submitting the online form of “Forgot Your Username / Password” on the main page of the online system. Change of Convenor of Committee on Professional Conduct
From 27 June 2016, Mr. Wong Ka Ming deputized Mr. Tsang Kin Chiu as the Acting Convenor of the Committee on Professional Conduct until further notice.
Personnel change
Mr. Thomas Leung, Registrar, has left his post from 1st December 2016 and is succeeded by Mr. Eric Lee. The Board would like to extend our gratitude towards Mr. Leung’s service over the years, and wish him all the best in the future!
To encourage RSWs’ participation in the Newsletter, and to provide opportunity for colleagues to express their views on social work profession, colleagues are welcome to contribute articles. Please note the following rules when doing so:
1. The Board regularly publishes Newsletter in every April and October. Colleagues are welcome to contribute articles to express their opinions.
2. Articles should be related to the functions of the Board or the social work profession, otherwise, the Board has discretion to decide whether to publish them or not.
3. No articles represent the position of the Board and authors should take sole responsibility for their views.
4. Authors should provide their real name, contact address, email and contact number. Authors may request for not publishing their real name.
5. Articles could be written in Chinese (within 2,000 words) or in English (within 1,500 words).
6. The Board is with full discretion in deciding on publishing an article or not.
7. The Board reserves its right of editing an article.
8. No any form of remuneration will be provided by the Board.