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The Government is proposing to amend the Employment Ordinance to provide workable modes of calculation for statutory entitlements under the Ordinance for cases involving commission of a contractual nature.
Under the related Employment (Amendment) Bill 2006 gazetted today (December 8), the statutory entitlements cover holiday pay, annual leave pay, maternity leave pay, sickness allowance, wages in lieu of notice for termination and end of year payment.
A spokesman for the Labour Department said, "The amendments are proposed in the light of the Court of Final Appeal's ruling in a labour case early this year that commission accrued and calculated on a monthly basis is not to be reckoned in the calculation of holiday pay and annual leave pay because the Ordinance does not provide for a 'workable mode of calculation'.
"As the Ordinance provisions for maternity leave pay, sickness allowance, wages in lieu of notice and end of year payment have a construction similar to that of holiday pay and annual leave pay, the ruling may also apply to them."
The spokesman further explained that the Bill aimed to fully reflect the Government's original policy intention that wages inclusive of commission of a contractual nature, however designated or calculated, should be used as the basis for the calculation of these statutory entitlements.
"To provide a more stable and predictable basis for calculation in the interests of both employers and employees, the Bill also seeks to modify the existing mode of calculation of the statutory entitlements by making reference to the average wages earned by an employee during a 12-month period, or such lesser period when the employee is under the employment of the concerned employer, immediately preceding the statutory holiday, first day of the annual leave, or other relevant dates," he said.
The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first reading and commencement of second reading debate on December 20.
Ends/Friday, December 8, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:58
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