**********************************************************
Fuku Fuku Ramen Company Limited was fined $18,000 at the Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (June 16) for failing to grant statutory holidays to its employees as required by the Employment Ordinance.
During an inspection of the restaurant in March, labour inspectors found that the employer failed to grant statutory holidays for Christmas Day, the first day of January and the second and third days of Lunar New Year to two employees. The Labour Department launched prosecutions against the employer.
Under Section 39 of the Employment Ordinance, all employees, irrespective of their length of service, are entitled to 12 statutory holidays a year. If an employee is required to work on a statutory holiday, his employer must arrange an alternative holiday within 60 days before or after the statutory holiday; if the alternative holiday is to be granted within the 60 days before the statutory holiday, at least 48 hours' prior notice must be given to the employee before the alternative holiday. If the alternative holiday is to be granted within the 60 days after the statutory holiday, the 48 hours' prior notice must be given before the statutory holiday. If the employer and employee agree, any day within 30 days of the statutory or alternative holiday may be taken by the employee as a substituted holiday.
Any employer who fails to grant statutory holidays is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 for each offence.
Employees are urged to call the complaint hotline of the department's Labour Inspection Division on 2815 2200 if they suspect that their employers have not granted statutory holidays to them. All complaints will be handled in strict confidence.
Ends/Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Issued at HKT 18:36
NNNN
