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The owner of Slim & Beauty (a beauty centre) was fined $10,000 at the Shatin Magistrates' Courts today (June 25) for failing to take out an insurance policy for its employees as required by the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (the ordinance).
The offence was detected during an inspection by the Labour Department on December 4 last year. It was found that the employer failed to secure an insurance policy for two employees and the Labour Department launched a prosecution.
Section 40(1) of the ordinance stipulates that employers are required to take out insurance policies for all their employees to cover their liabilities both under the ordinance and under common law for injuries at work.
Employers failing to secure insurance cover for their employees commit an offence and are liable on summary conviction to a maximum fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for one year. They are also liable to pay a surcharge to the Employees Compensation Assistance Fund Board which imposes a levy on premiums paid on employees' compensation insurance policies.
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 taken out insurance cover for them. All complaints will be handled in strict confidence.
Ends/Friday, June 25, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:55
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