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Following is a question by the Hon Lee Cheuk-yan and a reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (July 4):
Question:
The Government sought public view in 1981 regarding the disparity between the number of general holidays and that of statutory holidays and proposed in 1982 to increase the number of statutory holidays by one additional day, as a first step, with effect from 1983. Since then, the Executive Authorities have not taken the initiative to introduce any legislative proposal to increase the number of statutory holidays. On the other hand, under the Employment Ordinance (EO), an employee is entitled to seven to 14 days' annual leave with pay which in comparison with the four weeks' annual leave with pay enjoyed by employees in most advanced economies is obviously a lot less. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it will amend EO during the term of office of the fourth term Chief Executive (CE) to include all general holidays other than Sundays as statutory holidays; if it will, of the details and the legislative timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(b) it will amend EO during the term of office of the fourth term CE to increase the number of days of annual leave with pay to which an employee is entitled; if it will, of the details and the legislative timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the Hon Lee Cheuk-yan's question is as follows:
At present, employees are entitled under the Employment Ordinance (EO) to 12 days of statutory holidays and 7 to 14 days of annual leave each year, depending on their length of service. Such stipulation on holidays is a consensus reached by all sectors of society after extensive consultation. The EO is applicable to all employers irrespective of the trade, size and circumstances of individual establishments. The purpose of laying down employees' rights and benefits in the law is to accord basic protection to employees of various trades and occupations. On this basis, employers are free to offer their employees benefits over and above the requirements of the EO, such as granting more holidays or annual leave than that required by law, having regard to their operational needs and individual circumstances, in order to attract and retain talents.
The Hon Lee Cheuk-yan indicated that the number of holidays enjoyed by employees in Hong Kong is less than that of certain advanced economies. I should point out that employees' benefits (such as holidays) of any jurisdiction are invariably drawn up having regard to its unique social or economic circumstances. We must take into consideration our local circumstances when formulating our policies on employees' rights and benefits. Indeed, overall speaking, the number of statutory holidays and paid annual leave enjoyed by employees in Hong Kong under EO is no less favourable than that of our neighbouring Asian economies. Take an employee who has worked for the same employer for five years as an example, such an employee in Hong Kong is entitled to 12 days of statutory holidays with pay and 10 days of paid annual leave, making up a total of 22 days of holidays. Among the 10 neighbouring places, Hong Kong ranks 5th alongside Singapore and is ahead of Thailand, Mainland China, Macao and the Philippines. For an employee who has worked for the same employer for nine years, such an employee in Hong Kong is entitled to a total of 26 days of holidays, comprising 12 days of statutory holidays with pay and 14 days of paid annual leave, ranking 3rd together with Malaysia among the neighbouring places.
The stipulation under EO in relation to statutory holidays and annual leave is a consensus reached after extensive consultation in society. Enhancing the existing holiday benefits under EO would inevitably impact on employers, especially small-and-medium-sized enterprises which represent 98% of the enterprises in Hong Kong, and families employing some 300 000 foreign domestic helpers. In contemplating the suggestion, we have to consider the matter as a whole including the overall package of holiday benefits provided by law and the need to balance employees' interests and employers' affordability to ensure that the relevant policy is in line with the overall socio-economic development of Hong Kong while being able to maintain our competitiveness.
In view of public concern over the number of statutory holidays enjoyed by employees, we have embarked on a study on the subject. We have commissioned the Census and Statistics Department to collect statistics on the number and distribution, as well as the trades and occupations, of employees taking statutory holidays and general holidays respectively, for the study. The full set of statistics is expected to be available for analysis by the Labour Department by the end of this year.
Ends/Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Issued at HKT 13:39
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