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Report of the Commissioner for Labour 2000

Chapter 9 : Employee Rights And Benefits

9.1 Safeguarding the statutory rights and benefits of employees under the law is another main objective of the department. Enforcement actions of the department help to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of employment contracts and the requirements laid down by labour legislation.

Enforcing Statutory and Contractual Terms of Employment
9.2 The Labour Inspection Division is responsible for enforcing legislation governing terms and conditions of employment. Its main duties include inspecting the workplaces of local and imported workers and the accommodation of imported workers to ensure that the required terms and conditions are complied with.

9.3 The division administers the following ordinances and regulations:

* the Employment Ordinance on conditions of employment, and its subsidiary Employment of Children Regulations and Women and Young Persons (Industry) Regulations (amended as Employment of Young Persons (Industry) Regulations in April 2001);

* Part IV of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance on compulsory insurance in relation to compensation for work injuries; and

* Part IVB of the Immigration Ordinance that prohibits the employment of illegal workers.

9.4 The division operates 19 district offices throughout the territory. In addition, it has set up eight Special Enforcement Teams: five are responsible for enforcing legislation governing the employment rights and benefits of local workers and three for ensuring that imported workers receive their statutory and contractual benefits.

9.5 In 2000, Labour Inspectors carried out 162 640 inspections, including 153 631 inspections to combat illegal employment.Breakdown of overall inspections by economic sectors is at Figure 35. A total of 4 812 summonses was taken out and 1 975 suspected cases of illegal employment were referred to the Immigration Department.

9.6 During the year, Labour Inspectors stepped up inspections to workplaces and targeted trades where illegal workers were more likely to be found. Special campaigns were conducted to combat illegal deployment of foreign domestic helpers. The Labour Department and the Immigration Department further strengthened inter-departmental co-operation to deter such illegal deployment more effectively.

9.7 Labour Inspectors also assisted in publicising the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes. During initial launch of the schemes, Labour Inspectors joined forces with inspectors of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority to protect employees' statutory employment rights in relation to the schemes.

Telephone Enquiry Service
9.8 The Labour Inspection Division also operates a round-the-clock Telephone Enquiry Service to handle telephone enquiries from members of the public on labour legislation and labour matters.

9.9 Members of the public can listen to 67 topics of pre-recorded messages in Cantonese, Putonghua or English on labour legislation and services of the department at any time. They can also obtain 70 forms and printed messages in Chinese or English by fax. During office hours, officers are available to answer further enquiries. In 2000, this highly popular service handled 1 352 846 calls. The most frequently asked topics handled by the hotline in 2000 are shown in Figure 36.

9.10 The Telephone Enquiry Service has since February 2000 started to answer enquiries on statutory employment benefits relating to the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes and to provide one-stop service by directly forwarding calls on technical enquiries about the subject to the hotline of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.

Rights and Benefits of Imported Workers
9.11 Three of the department's divisions, namely the Importation of Workers Division, the Labour Relations Division and the Labour Inspection Division, are involved in the protection of the rights and benefits of workers who have entered Hong Kong for employment under the Supplementary Labour Scheme.

9.12 The Labour Inspection Division is mainly responsible for inspecting the workplaces and accommodation of imported workers to ensure that the required terms and conditions are met. Cases requiring follow-up action are referred to the Importation of Workers Division for investigations, issuing warning letters and prosecutions. The Importation of Workers Division is also responsible for receiving complaints and taking appropriate actions to ensure rectification of irregularities. During 2000, 62 complaints were received, including alleged wrongful displacement of local workers, improper deployment and non-grant of rest days or statutory holidays. On the other hand, consultation and conciliation services are provided by the Labour Relations Division to imported workers and their employers.

9.13 In 2000, the department organised 70 briefing sessions for workers and employers to publicise the rights and obligations of the parties concerned in relation to the employment of imported workers. Publications containing relevant information were distributed. In addition, the Importation of Workers Division operates a computer-operated interactive telephone answering system, the Labour Importation Telephone Service. Through the system, an enquirer can obtain information on the rights and obligations of imported workers and their employers under the Supplementary Labour Scheme in five languages/ dialects: Cantonese, Putonghua, English, Tagalog and Thai. Enquirers can also obtain information directly from its facsimile service. In 2000, it handled 6 990 calls.

Employees' Compensation
9.14 The Employees' Compensation Division is responsible for administering the Employees' Compensation Ordinance. Under the ordinance, compensation is payable to injured employees, or family members of deceased employees when injuries or deaths are caused to employees by accidents arising out of and in the course of employment or prescribed occupational diseases. Employers are required to report occupational injuries irrespective of the period of temporary loss of earning capacity suffered by their employees. Cases involving sick leave not exceeding three days are included.

9.15 In 2000, 10 705 employee compensation cases involving sick leave of not exceeding three days were reported to the division and a total of $8,760,071 was payable to these injured employees. These cases were settled directly between employers and employees.

9.16 During the year, 61 003 employee compensation cases involving sick leave exceeding three days or deaths were reported to the division. Among these cases, 228 (or 0.4 per cent) were fatal cases¹⁰ and 60 775 (or 99.6 per cent) were non-fatal cases. (Figures 37 and 38)

Note10 : The figure represents the total number of reported fatal cases, which includes 30 cases in which the death of the employee was found to be due to natural cause as at 31 December 2000.

9.17 For cases involving sick leave exceeding three days but not more than seven days and with no permanent loss of earning capacity, employers may also settle the compensation claims directly with their employees concerned. For other cases, sick leave clearance is required to decide whether the injured employees should be referred to assessment boards for the assessment of the degree of permanent loss of earning capacity. In 2000, the division completed the processing of 43 154 non-fatal cases involving sick leave exceeding three days and reported in the year and these included 15 073 cases which were settled directly between employers and employees. Compensation amounting to $370.7 million was payable to the injured employees. Claims for compensation involving fatality are determined by the courts or the Commissioner for Labour under the improved settlement mechanism introduced in August 2000.

9.18 In 2000, the Ordinary Assessment Boards, which were held in 15 major hospitals, completed 18 685 assessments and 2 702 review assessments, involving a total of 18 484 cases. The Special Assessment Boards completed two assessments involving two cases.

9.19 The Loan Scheme for Employees Injured at Work and Dependants of Deceased Employees provides temporary relief to victims of work accidents. Under the scheme, an interest-free loan up to $15,000 in each case will be granted to eligible applicants. In 2000, 27 applications for a total loan of $387,400 were approved.

9.20 For the 60 683 employee compensation cases reported in 1999, 56 960 non-fatal cases with sick leave exceeding three days and 131 fatal cases were settled as at the end of 2000. A sum of $1.002 billion was payable as compensation to the injured employees or dependants of deceased employees. The number of days lost was 1 507 190. (Figure 39)

9.21 Compensation for those who suffer from pneumoconiosis is paid from a statutory fund administered by the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board. While entitlement to compensation is determined by the Labour Department, the degree of loss of earning capacity is determined by the Pneumoconiosis Medical Board and the amount of compensation is calculated by the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board. In 2000, a total of 2 076 cases received compensation amounting to $174 million.

Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund
9.22 The Wage Security Unit provides administrative support to the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund Board (See paragraph 3.18) in verifying applications and approving payments from the fund. In 2000, the unit received 13 672 applications. During the year, it processed 13 582 applications, leading to payments of $358.1 million. (Figures 40 and 41)