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The relevant provisions in the Certification for Employee Benefits (Chinese Medicine) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2006 (abbreviated as Amendment Ordinance) in relation to the Employment Ordinance will come into effect from December 1 this year.
The Permanent Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said today (November 17), "The provisions aim to recognise registered Chinese medicine practitioners (CMPs) for the purpose of employees' entitlement to benefits under the Employment Ordinance.
"The amendments that will come into operation cover sickness allowance, maternity protection and long service payment.
"The Labour Department reviews Hong Kong's labour legislation from time to time in line with the territory's socio-economic developments. The Amendment Ordinance marked one of the initiatives introduced in recent years to meet public expectations and strengthen employees' protection," Mr Cheung said.
He urged employers to prepare to follow the new provisions so that their employees who sought treatment with registered CMPs and fulfilled the requirements of the Employment Ordinance may enjoy the statutory benefits.
"Starting from next month, an employee who produces a medical certificate issued by a registered CMP will be entitled to sickness allowance, provided that all other eligibility criteria under the Employment Ordinance are fulfilled," Mr Cheung said.
"Regarding maternity protection, medical certificates pertaining to pregnancy, which are issued by registered CMPs, will be recognised in accordance with the Amendment Ordinance. These include certification pertaining to confirmation of pregnancy and the expected date of confinement; an additional period of maternity leave required; and unfitness to handle heavy, hazardous or harmful work. With such certification, pregnant employees will be eligible for maternity protection under the Employment Ordinance.
"On long-service payment, registered CMPs, like registered medical practitioners, may issue a specified certificate under the Employment Ordinance to certify an employee as being permanently unfit for his present job. After submission of the relevant specified certificate, the employee may terminate his employment contract and will be entitled to long-service payment upon fulfilling other eligibility criteria under the Employment Ordinance," he said.
The above provisions of the Amendment Ordinance will apply only to medical certificates issued by CMPs under the Employment Ordinance from December 1 this year. As for certificates that involve sickness days, a period of maternity leave or incapability of work occurring before the effective date of the Amendment Ordinance, the provisions will not apply to that period.
In line with the amendments to the Employment Ordinance, the Amendment Ordinance also contains related amendments to the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (General) Regulation and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Exemption) Regulation for the recognition of relevant certificates issued by registered CMPs. These amendments also come into effect from December 1 this year.
Under the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) legislation, a member obtaining a medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner proving his incapacitation to perform the kind of work that he was engaged in is permitted to withdraw his accrued benefits in an MPF scheme. With the implementation of the amending provisions, medical certificates issued by registered CMPs will also be recognised.
As stipulated in the Amendment Ordinance, a registered Chinese medicine practitioner refers to a person who is registered under the Chinese Medicine Ordinance and whose name appears on the Register of Chinese Medicine Practitioners.
Details of the Amendment Ordinance are available at the Labour Department's website at www.labour.gov.hk. Enquiries can be made to the department's hotline, 2717 1771. A list of registered CMPs has been uploaded to the webpage of the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong at www.cmchk.org.hk for public viewing.
Ends/Friday, November 17, 2006
Issued at HKT 16:39
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