LCQ9: Work arrangements under adverse weather conditions
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Question:
Hong Kong has experienced several adverse weather events in recent years, which seriously affected the safety of employees working outdoors and commuting to and from work. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective numbers of cases in which employees sustained an injury or died while at work and commuting to and from work due to adverse weather and extreme conditions in each year since 2024, as well as the number of labour disputes resulting from such cases; if not, whether the Government will collect the aforesaid statistics in the future;
(2) whether the Labour Department (LD) will consider incorporating guidelines into the "Code of Practice in Times of Adverse Weather and 'Extreme Conditions'" (Code of Practice) to recommend employers to conduct safety risk assessments in advance for employees who need to work in times of adverse weather and extreme conditions; if so, when it plans to revise the relevant Code of Practice; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) whether the LD will consider recommending in the Code of Practice that employers, after assigning "designated staff" on duty in times of adverse weather and extreme conditions, should provide the "designated staff" concerned with travel allowance covering the direct route from his place of work to his place of residence; if so, when it plans to amend the relevant Code of Practice; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) given that some employers may abuse the "designated staff" arrangement under the Code of Practice to shift risks to insurance companies through the employees' compensation insurance policies, resulting in insurance companies raising employees' insurance premiums for the entire industry with the costs eventually borne by all employers in the industry, will the Government consider requiring the employers to take out additional insurance for "designated staff" working under adverse weather and extreme conditions, thereby preventing insurance companies from raising employees' compensation premiums across the entire industry and alleviating the overall premium burden on employers?
Reply:
President,
The Labour Department (LD) published the revised "Code of Practice in Times of Adverse Weather and 'Extreme Conditions'" (CoP) in May this year, reinforcing the reminder to employers on three major principles of formulating work arrangements under adverse weather or extreme conditions, which include formulating work arrangements in advance, giving prime consideration to employees' safety and complying with requirements of labour legislation. The current CoP also includes corporate examples for employers' reference.
The reply to the Member's question is as follows:
(1) Under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (ECO), employers are liable to pay compensation for injuries or deaths occurred when employees are travelling by a direct route from their residences to their workplaces, or from their workplaces back to their residences after work, within a period of four hours before or after the working hours on a day when the adverse weather (including Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or higher, a Red or Black Rainstorm Warning Signal) or extreme conditions are in force.
During 2024 to June 2026, the numbers of reported employees' compensation cases relating to the aforementioned adverse weather and extreme conditions received by the Employees' Compensation Division of the LD are set out below:
| 2024 | 2025 | January to June 2026 | |
| Non-fatal cases | 25 | 121 | 5 |
| Fatal cases | 0 | 1 | 0 |
In general, the number of reported employees' compensation cases relating to the adverse weather and extreme conditions received each year is inevitably affected by the weather conditions during the year, resulting in occasional greater fluctuations.
On the other hand, the Labour Relations Division of the LD has started to capture the number of employment claims arising from adverse weather or extreme conditions since September 2025. As at June this year, no related claim was recorded.
(2) The CoP has stipulated that employers should make prior work arrangements and contingency measures in times of adverse weather and extreme conditions with employees and give prime consideration to the safety of employees. Wherever possible, employers should avoid assigning employees to work in times of adverse weather (such as tropical cyclones and rainstorms) or extreme conditions. If it is unavoidable that employees have to work under the above conditions, the employers should conduct risk assessment and take suitable safety measures in advance to minimise the work-related risks as far as reasonably practicable, so as to ensure the safety and health of the employees at work with a view to fulfilling the employers' general duty provisions under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance.
(3) The CoP has emphasised that if employees are required to report for duty at workplaces when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or higher, Black Rainstorm Warning Signal or extreme conditions are in force (i.e. "designated staff") without provision of transport service to and from their workplaces by employers, the employers should grant these employees a travelling allowance. The CoP has included corporate examples to illustrate such arrangements for reference of employers and employees.
(4) The ECO stipulates that all employers shall have in force a policy of insurance to cover their liabilities under the law (including the common law), encompassing liabilities to pay compensation if an employee (including a "designated staff") sustains an injury or dies as a result of an accident while commuting between his residence and workplace within the period of adverse weather or during which extreme conditions are in force. Insurance companies in general will take into account the underwriting risks of different industries/occupations, the earnings of employees, the claims history of and the risk prevention measures taken by the employers concerned, etc. in drawing up insurance premium quotations.
Ends/Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:17
Issued at HKT 11:17
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