Ruling reminds employers to 'pay wages to an employee as soon as practicable'
Red Health Products Company and its director have been fined with a total of $78,000 for wage-related violations under Hong Kong's Employment Ordinance (EO).
Hong Kong's Labour Department said the company failed to pay employees' wages and payment in lieu of notice within the mandated seven days after the expiry of the wage periods and termination of employment.
The company also failed to settle in time about $220,000, which covers the employees' end-of-year payment and annual leave pay. It also failed to pay awarded sums of about $241,000 within 14 days after the date set by the Labour Tribunal (LT).
The director was involved for his "consent, connivance, or neglect" in the wage offences, the LD said in a media release.
The company and the director pleaded guilty at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts last Thursday.
Complying with wage regulations
A spokesperson from the Labour Department said the ruling will send a strong message to employers that they must "pay wages and termination payments to employees within the statutory time limit stipulated in the EO, as well as the sums awarded by the LT or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board."
Hong Kong's Employment Ordinance states that an employer "should pay wages to an employee as soon as practicable but in any case, not later than seven days after the end of the wage period."
Failure to pay within seven days would result in interest on the outstanding amount of wages, the EO read.
"An employer who wilfully and without reasonable excuse fails to pay interest on the outstanding amount of wages to the employee is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a fine of $10,000," it added.
This month has seen various organisations and directors getting fines for wage-related violations. One company and its two directors were previously fined $102,000 for similar breaches, while another director another company was also hit with a $51,000 penalty.
The spokesperson from the LD said they will "not tolerate these offences" and will "spare no effort in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees' statutory rights."
