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Employers may be prosecuted for terminating service contract of employee injured at work
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     A spokesman for the Labour Department (LD) today (April 30) reminded all employers that, pursuant to the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, without the consent of the Commissioner for Labour, an employer who terminates, or gives notice to terminate, the contract of service of an employee injured at work under the following circumstances commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $100,000:

     (a) where the employee sustained an injury giving rise to temporary incapacity not exceeding three days:

           before the period of temporary incapacity has expired and the compensation has been paid.

     (b) where the employee sustained an injury giving rise to temporary incapacity exceeding three days or permanent incapacity:

          (i) before the Commissioner has issued the Certificate of Compensation Assessment (Form 5); or
          (ii) before the employer agrees with the injured employee as to the compensation payable under the Ordinance; or
          (iii) before an Employees' Compensation Assessment Board has issued the Certificate of Assessment (Form 7 or 8) or the
Certificate of Review of Assessment (Form 9 or 10),

          whichever occurs first.

     The spokesman said that the LD will take prompt investigation action upon detection of non-compliance with the law and will instigate prosecution with sufficiency of evidence. This year, two employers were prosecuted and fined $30,000 respectively for terminating the contract of service of an injured employee in contravention of the Ordinance.
 
Ends/Monday, April 30, 2018
Issued at HKT 18:00
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