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Chan's Scaffolding Company Limited was fined $50,000 and ordered to pay costs of $3,000 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (December 28) for failing to take out an insurance policy for an employee as required by the Employees' Compensation Ordinance.
"All employers are required to take out insurance policies to cover their liabilities for injuries at work in respect of all their employees, both full-time and part-time," a spokesman for the Labour Department said.
"Any employer who fails to comply with the ordinance to secure an insurance cover for his employees will be prosecuted. Employers should not defy the law."
A scaffolding worker was employed by Chan's Scaffolding Company Limited to carry out scaffolding work in Happy Valley starting from May 2004. An industrial accident occurred when the worker dismantled the scaffold on September 28, 2005.
On September 30, 2005, the company reported the work accident to the Labour Department. After an investigation, the department found that the company had not taken out an insurance policy for the employee, and therefore launched a prosecution under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance.
Section 40(1) of the Employees Compensation Ordinance stipulates that employers are required to take out insurance policies for all employees to cover their liabilities both under the ordinance and common law for injuries at work.
Employers failing to secure insurance cover for their employees commit an offence and are liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for one year. In addition, they are liable to pay a surcharge to the Employees Compensation Assistance Fund Board.
Ends/Thursday, December 28, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:42
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