MPFA steps up enforcement actions to impose financial penalties on defaulters
******************************************************

    To better protect the MPF rights of employees and to respond to public's call for stepping up enforcement actions against defaulting employers, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) today (September 1) decided to step up the imposition of financial penalties on defaulters as empowered by the legislation.

     An MPFA spokesman said the financial penalty was 10% of the default contribution or at least HK$5,000.

     The spokesman called on employers not to defy the law, and urged them to settle all outstanding contributions with their trustees as soon as possible and make contributions within the statutory timeframe.

     He also called on the employees to look after their MPF accounts. Employees should actively check if their employers have paid the MPF contributions into the account in time through the following channelsĄG

* Customer service hotline of the trustees; or
* Websites of the trustees; or
* Automatic Teller Machines of the trustees, where available.

(Customer service hotlines of the trustees are listed in the annex)

     Moreover, to better protect the interests of the employees, the MPFA is discussing with trustees to study the feasibility of directly informing the employees of default contributions so that they can take prompt actions.

     The spokesman said if employees discovered that their employers had failed to enrol them in an MPF scheme or failed to make MPF contributions, they should lodge a complaint with the MPFA by calling the hotline 2918 0102 as soon as possible so the MPFA could follow up on the case and make early investigation."

Ends/Friday, September 1, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:27

NNNN