The Government today (July 9) published the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Notice 2021 in the Gazette to increase the jurisdictional limit of the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board (MECAB) from not exceeding $8,000 to not exceeding $15,000 per claimant.

     The MECAB was established within the Labour Department (LD) under the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board Ordinance to provide simple, quick and inexpensive adjudication service for employment claims arising from disputes of statutory or contractual rights of employment. The MECAB currently has jurisdiction to handle claims with a claim amount not exceeding $8,000 per claimant and made by not more than 10 claimants. Any employment claims with a claim amount or number of claimants higher than the jurisdictional limit of the MECAB will be adjudicated by the Labour Tribunal.

     "Having examined the increase in employment earnings of local employees, the caseload of the MECAB and other factors, it is considered appropriate to increase the jurisdictional limit of the MECAB in respect of the claim amount to not exceeding $15,000 per claimant," a spokesman for the LD said.

     The Notice will be introduced into the Legislative Council on July 14. Upon the completion of the negative vetting procedure by the Legislative Council, the revised jurisdictional limit of the MECAB will come into effect on September 17 this year.
 

Ends/Friday, July 9, 2021
Issued at HKT 11:00

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