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Vevion Hong Kong Limited and its director were fined $135,000 in total at the Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts today (January 18) for wage and annual leave pay offences under the Employment Ordinance. The prosecution was launched by the Labour Department.
The company failed to pay wages to five employees within seven days after the expiry of wage periods and termination of employment as required by the ordinance. The director was convicted for his consent, connivance or neglect in the wage offences.
The company also failed to pay annual leave pay to one of the employees in accordance with the Employment Ordinance.
According to Section 23 and 25 of the Employment Ordinance, wages due upon expiry of a wage period or upon termination of employment shall be paid as soon as practicable, but not later than seven days thereafter. Any employer who fails to do so wilfully and without reasonable excuse commits an offence. In addition, Section 64B of the ordinance stipulates that where any wage offence committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, the director, manager, secretary or other similar officer shall be guilty of a like offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a maximum penalty of a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.
Any employer who fails to comply with the requirement of Section 41D regarding the annual leave pay is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000.
"The Labour Department does not tolerate wage offences and spares no effort in prosecuting employers and directors who defy the law," a spokesman for the Labour Department said.
Employees who are owed wages should call the Labour Department's complaint hotline, 2815 2200, immediately.
Ends/Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:14
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