Consultation launched on proposal to publish records of conviction, revocation/refusal of renewal of licence and written warnings of employment agencies

     The Labour Department (LD) today (August 10) launched a public consultation on the proposal to publish records of conviction, revocation/refusal of renewal of licence and written warnings of employment agencies (EAs) on the department's EA Portal (www.eaa.labour.gov.hk).

     A spokesman for LD said, "To enhance transparency and facilitate public access to EAs' track records, LD plans to publish the relevant records on the EA Portal so that job-seekers (including foreign domestic helpers) and employers can avoid falling prey to unscrupulous EAs or EAs without a valid licence when engaging EA services. The enhanced transparency would also help foster the adoption of good practices by EAs and raise the service standard of the industry."

     It is proposed that the following three lists be published on the EA Portal:

     (a) a list of EAs convicted of the offence(s) of overcharging or unlicensed operation in the past 24 months;

     (b) a list of EAs whose licences were revoked/refused renewal in the past 12 months; and 

     (c) a list of EAs which were issued written warnings for non-compliance with the Code of Practice for EAs in the past 12 months.

     "The records on convictions and revocation/refusal of renewal of licences of EAs are currently available on the EA Portal in the form of press releases and/or gazette notices. Publishing the lists would better facilitate members of the public, especially job-seekers and employers who do not have much experience in engaging EA services, to access these records. Moreover, the publication of written warnings would better enable members of the public to make informed decisions when engaging EA services and enhance protection for them," the spokesman added.

     The consultation paper setting out the details of the proposal is available on the EA Portal at www.eaa.labour.gov.hk. Members of the public may send in their views on the proposal by email (eaa-consultation@labour.gov.hk), by fax (2115 3756) or by post (Employment Agencies Administration of Labour Department, Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon) on or before September 7, 2018. For more information, please visit the EA Portal or call the Employment Agencies Administration's hotline at 2115 3667.