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Vevion Hong Kong Limited and its director were fined $19,500 in total at the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today (April 8) for wage offences under the Employment Ordinance. The prosecution was launched by the Labour Department.
The company failed to pay wages of around $16,000 to an employee within seven days after the expiry of wage period and termination of employment, as required by the ordinance. The director was convicted for his consent, connivance or neglect in the wage offences.
According to Section 23 and 25 of the Employment Ordinance, wages due upon expiry of wage period or upon termination of employment shall be paid as soon as practicable, but not later than seven days thereafter. 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.
In addition, Section 64B of the ordinance stipulates that where any wage 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 who defy the law," a spokesman for the Labour Department said.
Employees who are owed wages should call the Labour Department's complaint hotline, 2815 2200, immediately.
Ends/Thursday, April 8, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:41
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