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A partner of an elderly home was fined $32,000 in total at the Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Courts yesterday (December 8) for wage and holiday offences under the Employment Ordinance and Minimum Wage Ordinance. The prosecution was instituted by the Labour Department.
The partner failed to pay wages for March and April 2011 to three employees within seven days after the expiry of the wage period as required by the Employment Ordinance. Hence, the partner was prosecuted under the Employment Ordinance for late payment of wages. In addition, the partner was prosecuted for late payment of holiday pay and failing to grant annual leave in accordance with the Employment Ordinance to the above employees.
Subsequent to the implementation of the Minimum Wage Ordinance, the partner intended to adjust the wage rate of the employees to an hourly rate of $28 with effect from May 1, 2011, to meet the statutory minimum wage rate. However, the partner paid wages for May 2011 to two of the above employees late and failed to pay them according to the adjusted wage rate.
The Employment Ordinance provides that wages shall be paid as soon as practicable, but in any case not later than seven days after the end of the wage period. 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.
The Minimum Wage Ordinance provides that all employees are entitled to be paid wages in respect of any wage period of not less than the minimum wage. The Ordinance also specifies that an employee is entitled to additional remuneration in respect of a wage period when the wages payable to the employee for the wage period are less than the minimum wage for the employee for that period. Failure to pay additional remuneration is equal to failure to pay wages and the employer commits an offence under the Employment Ordinance.
Employees who are owed wages or have not been paid up to the statutory minimum wage or suspect that their employers have not granted statutory holidays or annual leave should immediately report it to the Labour Department's complaint hotline on 2815 2200.
Ends/Friday, December 9, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:34
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