13 April, 2018
In her 2017 Policy Address, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam proposed a number of polices relating to employment rights. The following two proposals are particularly notable:
1. Proposed abolition of offsetting of Mandatory Provident Fund contributions
Under the current Employment Ordinance, employers are entitled to offset an employee’s statutory severance or long service payment with accrued benefits derived from the employer’s contributions made to the employee’s retirement scheme. On 23 June 2017, the Executive Council affirmed the government’s proposal to progressively abolish such “offsetting”. The current government has been willing to assist small and medium enterprises in dealing with the financial impact of the proposed abolition and intends to re-open the consultation process in order to devise proposals on how to implement the offsetting mechanism.
2. Increased maternity and paternity benefits
The government intends to commence an impact and feasibility study for the proposal to increase statutory paid maternity leave from 10 weeks to up to 14 weeks, in line with standards adopted by the International Labour Organisation, and to increase statutory paid paternity leave from three days to five days.
For further information, please contact:
Samantha Cornelius, Linklaters
samantha.cornelius@linklaters.com
