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A director of High Merit Limited trading as New Fuk Wan Seafood Hotpot Restaurant, was sentenced at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (October 20) to two months' jail, suspended for two years, for wage offences under the Employment Ordinance. The prosecution was launched by the Labour Department.
A spokesman for the Labour Department welcomed the judgment, saying that it would send a strong message to directors or responsible persons of a limited company that they had a personal responsibility to ensure that wages were paid to employees in accordance with the Employment Ordinance.
"This is the fourth case this year that a jail sentence has been imposed on an employer or responsible person of a limited company for committing wage offences. It shows that the courts are attaching more importance to these offences. Employers should not defy the law," he said.
The employee in the case was a warehouse worker of the restaurant. For the months of December 2007 and January 2008, the worker received only half of the salaries in the wage period. The remaining salaries were paid after seven days after the last day of the wage period, contrary to the Employment Ordinance.
The Labour Department investigated the case and evidence showed that the wage offences were committed with the directorˇ¦s consent, connivance or neglect.
According to Section 23 of the Employment Ordinance, wages due upon expiry of the last day of the wage period must be paid as soon as practicable, but not later than seven days.
Any employer who fails to do so wilfully and without reasonable excuse is liable to a maximum fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.
Section 64B of the ordinance stipulates that where any wage payment offence committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, the director, manager, secretary or other similar officer shall be guilty of a like offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a maximum penalty of a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.
"The Labour Department does not tolerate wage offences and spares no effort in prosecuting employers and directors or responsible persons of limited companies who defy the law," the spokesman said.
Employees who are owed wages should call the Labour Department's complaint hotline, 2815 2200, immediately.
Ends/Monday, October 20, 2008
Issued at HKT 18:26
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