V. EXTENSION OF APPOINTMENT BEYOND CONTRACTUAL RETIREMENT AGE The normal retirement age of an appointee, as stipulated in the Terms of Service, is 60. Under normal circumstance, staff members will retire upon reaching their normal retirement age; and it is only under exceptional circumstances and on functional grounds will the University consider recommendations from Deans and Heads of Departments/Offices for the extension of appointment of any of their staff members beyond the normal retirement age. Recommendation for extension of appointment beyond the normal retirement age will be considered in accordance with the following procedures and guidelines. 1. Recommendation Procedures a. In the beginning of every calendar year, the Personnel Office will provide a comprehensive staff list of each Faculty/Department/Office to Deans and Heads of Departments/Offices for information and reference. Together with the staff list, a projection of staff retiring within the next 5 years will be prepared for the reference of Deans and Heads of Departments/Offices. Based on the projected lists, Deans and Heads of Departments/Offices are requested to consider if they wish to recommend for consideration the extension of appointment of any of their staff members beyond their retirement age. Recommendations for extension of appointment as initiated by supervisors and made after due consultation with the staff members concerned, must have the full support of the respective Dean and Head of Department/Office before they will be considered further. b. Cases involving Support and Ancillary Staff should be forwarded to the Vice-President (Administration) and Secretary, via the Personnel Office, for consideration and approval. c. Cases involving Academic and equivalent Administrative staff remunerated on the University salary scales should be forwarded to a Review Panel, via the Personnel Office, for consideration and recommendation to the President & Vice-Chancellor for final approval. d. To allow adequate time for processing and for communicating the result back to the appointee, recommendation for extension of appointment beyond retirement age should be made as early as possible and in any case not later than ONE YEAR before the staff concerned is due to retire. In exceptional cases involving staff members with outstanding performance and special contribution, Deans and Heads could initiate a recommendation of extended appointment beyond the normal retirement age as early as THREE YEARS before the staff member’s projected retirement date. 2. Composition of the Review Panel Composition of the Review Panel for considering the extension of appointment beyond retirement age for Academic and equivalent Administrative staff remunerated on the University salary scales will be similar to that of the Panel for Review of Appointment, as follows: a. For Teaching Staff (including Senior/Principal Instructors) Core Members i. The Academic Vice-President as Chairman, ii. The Chairman of Research Committee, iii. A Dean of Faculty/School by rotation on an annual basis. Other Members i. Dean of the relevant Faculty/School or from other Faculty/School should the relevant Dean be a core member, ii. A senior teaching staff member from the relevant Faculty/School, iii. A senior teaching staff member from outside the Faculty/School. (Note: The Chairman may invite the Head of Department to attend the meeting to provide additional information whenever necessary.) b. For Administrative Staff i. The Vice-President (Administration) & Secretary as Chairman, ii. The Vice-President (Research & Support Services), iii. The Head of the relevant Office, iv. A senior non-teaching staff member from outside the Office, preferably at the Head of Office level if the appointee under review is at the Assistant Secretary/Senior Assistant Secretary level, v. A senior teaching staff member from the Senate, vi. The Director of Personnel. c. Panel composition for consideration of extension of appointment beyond retirement age of Deans, Chair Professors and Heads of Administrative Offices will comprise the President & Vice-Chancellor as Chairman, Vice-Presidents, and any other senior members of staff that the President & Vice-Chancellor would like to co-opt. 3. Guidelines and Criteria a. Under normal circumstances, a staff member is expected to retire when he/she reaches 60 years of age. The predominant factor for considering an extension of appointment beyond the normal retirement age will only be on functional grounds, which can be elaborated as follows: i. there will be expected difficulty of recruiting a replacement; ii. the replacement is not likely to have the same experience relevant to the job and to be of the same calibre or strength to contribute to the job as effectively as the staff member concerned; iii. the intensive knowledge of the staff member concerned in the operation of the Office and the University will give him/her an edge over any new replacement; and iv. the staff member concerned, if staying on, would help train or orientate new staff to be brought in under the office's expansion plan. b. On top of these consideration, the Review Panel must also be satisfied that the work performance of the staff member concerned is of a standard appropriate to the grade at which the extension is offered: For Teaching Staff i. that he/she continues to teach at a good standard; ii. that he/she continues to produce research of a satisfactory standard; iii. that he/she continues to contribute to the general well-being of the office as a helpful and conscientious colleague. [The Dean will provide the Panel with information on the teaching evaluation scores of the staff under review, and other evidences of good or poor teaching as appropriate.] For Administrative Staff i. that he/she continues to display administrative/ professional competence; and ii. that he/she continues to contribute to the general well-being of the Office as a helpful and conscientious colleague. [If the staff member under review is at the Assistant Secretary equivalent or above ranks, the Personnel Office will arrange for Service Evaluation Survey to solicit feedback from users departments/offices on the performance of the staff member concerned.] c. The period of extension of appointment is normally for one to two years. Under exceptional circumstances, a longer period of extension of appointment of more than 2 years may be recommended in which case the staff member concerned must have demonstrated the following to the satisfaction of the Review Panel in addition to meeting the criteria stated in pars. 3(a) and 3(b) above: i. that the staff member is performing at an outstanding level; ii. that the staff member is making an outstanding and significant contribution to the University; and iii. that the staff member is very difficult to replace. d. Subject to the assurance that the criteria listed under pars. 3(a) to 3(c) have been satisfactorily met, and that resources are available for an extension to be made, the Review Panel shall then make a recommendation to the President & Vice-Chancellor for final approval. 4. The Recommendation on Extension of Appointment a. The recommendation for any extension of appointment beyond the normal retirement age shall specify the following: i. Period of Extended Appointment The period of extended appointment will normally be for one to two years. Extension for more than two years may be made on exceptional ground for cases referred to in par. 3(c) above. Every extended year of appointment will be subject to satisfactory medical and performance appraisal reports. ii. Terms of Employment The extended appointment shall normally be on fixed-term employment. A staff member who is currently on superannuable terms of employment and is granted further appointment on fixed-term contract beyond his/her normal retirement age may, subject to the approval of the President and Vice-Chancellor, remain as a member of the Superannuation Fund. b. In all circumstances, the Review Panel shall not recommend an extension of appointment which would result in the staff member remaining in service beyond the 30 June following his/her 65th birthday, or if his/her birthday falls on 30 June, then beyond that 30 June. 5. Recommendation for Further Extension of Appointment In the case of a two-year or above extension of appointment, one year before the extended appointment will come to an end, the supervisor concerned may, subject to consultation with the staff member concerned and support by the respective Dean & Head of Department/Office, recommend for a further extension, which will be considered in accordance with the guidelines and procedures as outlined above. .