Company’s director fined $70,000 for contravening Employment Ordinance

     â€‹The director of Reit Chin Network Solution Limited was prosecuted by the Labour Department (LD) for failing to pay wages and the sum awarded to an employee by the Labour Tribunal (LT) in accordance with the Employment Ordinance (EO). The director pleaded guilty and was fined a total of $70,000 at Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today (December 30). The director was also ordered by the court to pay the employee an outstanding sum of about $116,000.

     The company failed to pay the employee wages of $39,000 within seven days after termination of employment as required by the EO. The company also failed to pay the employee the sum of about $116,000 awarded by the LT within 14 days after the date set by the LT in accordance with the EO. The director of the company was prosecuted and convicted for his consent, connivance or neglect in the above offences.
  
     "The ruling helps disseminate a strong message to all directors and responsible officers of companies that they have personal liability to ensure payment of wages and sums awarded by the LT or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board to employees within the statutory time limit stipulated in the EO," a spokesperson for the LD said.

     "The LD will not tolerate these offences and will spare no effort in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees' statutory rights," the spokesperson added.