ASN Limited was prosecuted by the Labour Department (LD) for terminating the continuous contract of employment of a pregnant employee and failing to pay wages and other termination payments to two employees within seven days after the termination of their contracts of employment, as well as defaulting on the sums awarded by the Labour Tribunal (LT), as required by the Employment Ordinance (EO). The employer was fined $62,000 after pleading guilty at Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (April 29) and was ordered to pay outstanding sums of about $69,000 via the court to the two employees.
"The ruling helps disseminate a strong message to all employers that they have to pay wages and other termination payments to employees within the time limit stipulated in the EO and the awarded sums according to the LT or Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board and should not illegally terminate the contracts of employment of pregnant employees," an LD spokesman said.
"The LD will not tolerate these offences and will continue to make dedicated efforts in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees' statutory rights," the spokesman added.
Follow this news feed: East Asia