{"id":3825,"date":"2022-11-29T15:08:52","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T07:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/?p=3825"},"modified":"2022-11-29T15:08:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T07:08:54","slug":"a-reminder-about-wage-obligations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/a-reminder-about-wage-obligations\/","title":{"rendered":"A reminder about wage obligations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Alex Liu<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong Kong, 29 November 2022:<\/strong> The impact of Covid-19 on Hong Kong\u2019s economy has been underscored by media stories about firms failing to pay wages on time and falling behind with pension fund contributions. But even in these difficult times, the government has made it clear employers are expected to meet their obligations towards workers and will be hit with penalties if they fail to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a high-profile case which surfaced last month, bakery chain Hoixe Cake Shop was revealed to be two months behind in remunerating hundreds of employees. In pledging to make up the arrears within days, the firm said it had faced \u201cunprecedentedly harsh\u201d tests due to the pandemic. An investigation by the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) Schemes Authority also found the company \u2013 which has more than 50 outlets \u2013 owed pension contributions of HK$760,000 involving 580 staff members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That development came weeks after another bakery chain, Crostini, which had 15 outlets in Hong Kong, closed suddenly, leaving some 100 staff facing pay arrears. The firm blamed its closure on the end of the government\u2019s rent deferral scheme, which ran for three months and was aimed at keeping businesses afloat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the MPF Schemes Authority recently revealed pension fund contribution arrears among employers were at a three-year high. It said an average of 28,500 default notices a month had been issued to non-compliant businesses since April. Chairwoman Ayesha Macpherson Lau highlighted \u201ca growing trend of default contribution cases since the pandemic began\u201d and warned her organisation would take action to protect affected workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of firms have been prosecuted by the Labour Department in recent weeks for failure to pay wages on time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n