Employer failed to pay over $200,000 worth of wages
Another employer has been slapped with a fine in Hong Kong for breaching the Employment Ordinance (EO) after it failed to pay over $200,000 worth of wages to four employees.
Ho Land International Limited has been fined $52,000 by the Eastern Magistrates' Court for its failure to pay employees wages within seven days after the expiry of the wage periods and termination of their employment contracts.
The total owed wages hit $234,000, according to Hong Kong's Labour Department.
The employer is also accused of not paying awarded sums of about $520,000 within 14 days after the date set by the Labour Tribunal.
Hong Kong's Labour Department launched prosecution against Ho Land International Limited, who pleaded guilty in court on Friday.
Warning reinstated
This is the second company fined in court over the past week for breaching Hong Kong's Employment Ordinance.
A now-dissolved Hong Kong firm was also fined with a total of $126,000 last week for similar contraventions.
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A spokesperson from the Labour Department reiterated that the ruling sends a "strong message to all employers" to pay wages within the time limit stipulated by the EO, as well as the sums awarded by the Labour Tribunal or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board.
"The LD will not tolerate these offences and will spare no effort in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees' statutory rights," the spokesperson said in a statement.
Hong Kong's Employment Ordinance states that an employer shall pay all termination payments, except for severance payment, to the employee "as soon as practicable and in any case not later than seven days after the date of termination or expiry of contract."