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A dry-cleaning company, Jeeves (HK) Limited, was fined $15,000 and $3,500 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (April 28) for wage and holiday offences under the Employment Ordinance. The prosecution was launched by the Labour Department.
The employer failed to pay wages to five employees within seven days of the expiry of the wage period. The amount of wages involved was about $17,000. In addition, the employer failed to grant statutory holidays to two employees.
According to Section 23 of the Employment Ordinance, wages due upon expiry of the last day of the wage period shall be paid as soon as practicable, but not later than seven days.
A spokesman for the Labour Department stressed that the maximum penalty for wage offences had been raised from March 30 this year - the fine going up from $200,000 to $350,000 and imprisonment from one year to three years.
Under Section 39 of the Employment Ordinance, all employees, irrespective of their length of service, are entitled to 12 statutory holidays a year.
If an employee is required to work on a statutory holiday, his employer must arrange an alternative holiday within the 60 days before or after the statutory holiday.
If the alternative holiday is to be granted within the 60 days before the statutory holiday, at least 48 hours' prior notice must be given to the employee before the alternative holiday. If the alternative holiday is to be granted within the 60 days after the statutory holiday, the 48 hours' prior notice must be given before the statutory holiday.
If the employer and employee agree, any day within 30 days of the statutory or alternative holiday may be taken by the employee as a substituted holiday.
Any employer who fails to grant statutory holidays is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 for each offence.
The spokesman also urged employees who were owed wages to report immediately to the department's complaints hotline on 2815 2200.
Ends/Friday, April 28, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:16
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