LCQ19: Applications for importation of labour in food and beverage services sector
**********************************************************************************
Question:
Since June 16, 2026, the Government has further tightened the vetting mechanism under the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme for applications in respect of posts in the production and table service sections of the food and beverage services sector by requiring employers to maintain a manning ratio of 3:1 between full-time local employees and imported workers, and to conduct local recruitment for a period of six weeks, during which they must attend job fairs organised by the Labour Department (LD). There are views pointing out that, as the trade finds it difficult to meet with the new manning ratio requirement, existing quotas for imported workers have been cancelled, thereby placing catering establishments under direct pressure of closure. At the same time, some members of the trade have reflected that the vetting and approval of applications takes an unduly long time, with some applications submitted early this year still awaiting approval, causing serious disruption to the manpower arrangements of catering establishments. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) since the implementation of the new mechanism, of (i) the number of applications received (including new applications and renewal applications), and among them, the number of applications rejected for failure to meet the requirements under the new mechanism, with a breakdown by reason for rejection; (ii) the respective numbers of catering establishments and imported workers involved; and (iii) the change in the average monthly number of applications for imported workers received by the LD as compared with that before the implementation of the new mechanism;
(2) whether the Government has formulated any performance pledge in respect of the procedures for vetting and approving applications under the new mechanism; if so, set out the differences in vetting and approval times during the three months before and after the implementation of the new mechanism; of the shortest and longest vetting and approval times respectively for applications processed before the implementation of the new mechanism, and set out the respective numbers of applications for which vetting and approval were completed, broken down by the time taken for vetting and approval (i.e. (i) within three months, (ii) four to six months, (iii) seven to nine months, and (iv) over nine months);
(3) since the implementation of the new mechanism, of the number of employers who have conducted local recruitment for six weeks and attended job fairs organised by the LD; the respective numbers of job vacancies offered, persons interviewed and persons who ultimately took up employment;
(4) given that some catering establishments remain unable to recruit sufficient manpower after completing the six-week local recruitment, whether the Government will consider moderately relaxing the ratio of local workers to imported workers so as to assist catering establishments in sustaining their operations; if so, of the details; if not, how the Government will assist those catering establishments which are unable to recruit sufficient local employees and have been unsuccessful in their applications for imported workers in continuing their operations; and
(5) as there are views pointing out that the catering industry is undergoing structural changes, with the number of Chinese-style restaurants having declined by more than 10 per cent while the number of restaurants offering new-style cuisines continues to rise, and that practitioners engaged in Chinese-style catering services may not be able to meet the skill requirements of restaurants offering new-style cuisines, of the specific measures put in place by the Government to assist the relevant practitioners in making a career transition?
Reply:
President,
To cope with the challenges brought by manpower shortage and foster Hong Kong's economic development, the Government, on the premise of ensuring the employment priority for local workers, suitably allows employers with genuine difficulty in recruiting suitable local workers to apply for importation of workers. Apart from launching sector-specific labour importation schemes for the construction sector, transport sector and residential care homes for the elderly and residential care homes for persons with disabilities, the Labour Department (LD) has implemented the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) since September 4, 2023, to allow employers with genuine needs to apply for importation of workers for posts that were generally excluded under the previous Supplementary Labour Scheme.
The ESLS has implemented a tiered vetting mechanism since June 16 this year with a view to processing applications for labour importation more flexibly, taking into account the manpower supply and demand in different industries and posts. Applications vetted under Tier 2 are subject to more stringent manning ratio of full-time local employees to imported workers and local open recruitment requirements, etc. The Tier 2 vetting mechanism is currently applicable to posts in the production section and the table service section of the food and beverage services sector. Employers applying for imported workers of relevant posts are required to meet a more stringent manning ratio requirement of 3:1 (calculated on the basis of all posts within the section), and must undertake six-week local recruitment and attend an onsite job fair once every two weeks at a job centre assigned by the LD to interview job seekers on the spot.
The reply to the Member's question is as follows:
(1) From January to June and from July to September 2026, the ESLS respectively received 1 905 and 890 applications from the food and beverage services sector involving 13 573 and 4 996 imported workers.
From June 16 to September 2026, a total of 93 applications involving the food and beverage services sector failed to pass the preliminary screening because the employers were unable to meet the manning ratio requirement under the Tier 2 vetting mechanism.
(2) The time required for the LD to process each application is affected by various factors, including whether the post under application is a common post (e.g. junior cook, waiter/waitress and cleaner), whether the applicant employer has provided sufficient information or changed the application details during processing, the time taken by the employer to respond to the LD's enquiries or suggestions, and whether the employer has any suspected violation of laws or regulations. Applications submitted by employers are subject to preliminary screening to confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria. Preliminary screening is considerably affected by whether the applied post is common and whether the employer has submitted sufficient information, and thus screening of some applications requires a longer time to complete. For applications under the Tier 1 vetting mechanism, after the employers have submitted all information and documents, and passed the preliminary screening, the vetting of the majority of applications can be completed in about three months (including the time taken by employers to conduct four-week local recruitment). For applications under the Tier 2 vetting mechanism, since the local recruitment period is extended to six weeks and the LD needs more time to follow up on the recruitment results, the vetting of the majority of applications is expected to be completed in about four months (including the time required for six-week local recruitment) after receiving all information required and passing of preliminary screening.
Taking September 2026 as an example, the LD completed the vetting of 330 applications, the average vetting time for applications which had passed the preliminary screening is tabulated below:
| Average vetting time | Number of applications |
| Within 4 months | 289 |
| 4 to 6 months | 40 |
| 7 to 9 months | 1 |
| Over 9 months | 0 |
| Total | 330 |
(3) From June 16 to September 2026, a total of 219 employers from the food and beverage services sector participated in ESLS job fairs under the Tier 2 vetting mechanism, offering a total of 1 276 job vacancies (including 554 vacancies from the production section, 460 vacancies from the table service section, and 262 vacancies from other sections (e.g. dish washer and cleaner)), and conducted a total of 137 on-the-spot interviews during the local recruitment period. Among the results of 18 job interviews confirmed thus far, 10 job seekers were not employed due to failure to meet the requirements while seven job seekers declined the employment offers and one job seeker was employed successfully. The remaining interview results are being verified.
(4) The ESLS Tier 2 vetting mechanism currently applies to key posts in the kitchen and table services of the food and beverage services sector. In tandem with the implementation of a more stringent manning ratio requirement, flexibility for employers is suitably provided by changing the basis of calculating the manning ratio from individual specified posts to the total number of employees in a section, thereby striking a better balance between meeting employers' need for labour importation and ensuring the employment priority for local workers.
At the same time, with a view to promoting the employment of persons with disabilities, if employers take on local persons with disabilities to take up full-time jobs and apply for imported workers under the ESLS, the manning ratio of full-time local employees with disabilities (irrespective of the section or job category) to imported workers will be relaxed to 1:1. This measure is applicable to ESLS applications of all sectors (including the food and beverage services sector under the Tier 2 vetting mechanism).
(5) The Government closely monitors the latest developments and changes in the food and beverage services sector, and collaborates with relevant organisations to provide appropriate employment support and training services in line with market demand, so as to actively assist practitioners in upgrading their skills and achieving timely transitions, thereby mitigating skill mismatches within the industry and helping them re-enter the labour market. Upskill Hong Kong, after upgrade, will also continue to provide various skills training for local employees including those in the catering sector to meet the manpower demand of the market.
The Government will continue to closely monitor the economic and labour market situation, the manpower supply and demand of relevant sectors and job categories, the application and vetting of the ESLS, etc, and adjust dynamically the arrangements of labour importation.
Ends/Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:50
Issued at HKT 11:50
NNNN