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With two statutory holidays in the next two weeks, employers are reminded to grant the holidays to employees.
The Employment Ordinance stipulates that employers should arrange their employees to take statutory holidays and annual leave, and pay the required statutory holiday pay and annual leave pay, or else they will face prosecution.
A spokesman for the Labour Department said today (December 21) that under the Employment Ordinance, all employees, irrespective of their length of service, were entitled to 12 statutory holidays a year.
"On the other hand, an employee is entitled to annual leave with pay after having been employed under a continuous contract for every 12 months. An employee's entitlement to paid annual leave increases progressively from seven days to a maximum of 14 days according to his length of service.
"Employers have to grant a statutory holiday to employees on either the Chinese Winter Solstice Festival (December 22) or Christmas Day (December 25). The first day of January is another statutory holiday to be granted," he said.
The spokesman said that the Incorporated Owners of Wellcome Mansion and the Incorporated Owners of Sun Wong House were fined $14,000 and $11,000 respectively at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts recently for failing to grant statutory holidays and annual leave to employees under the Employment Ordinance. The prosecutions were launched by the Labour Department.
During an inspection by labour inspectors in September, it was found that the Incorporated Owners of Sun Wong House failed to grant two statutory holidays - Tuen Ng Festival and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day - and nine days of annual leave to an employee.
In another inspection in October, it was also found that the Incorporated Owners of Wellcome Mansion failed to grant a statutory holiday - Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day - and 13 days of annual leave to an employee.
Under Section 39 of the Employment Ordinance, if an employee is required to work on a statutory holiday, his employer must arrange an alternative holiday within 60 days before or after the statutory holiday.
If the alternative holiday is to be granted within 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 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 do so is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a maximum fine of $50,000.
In addition, according to Section 41AA of the Employment Ordinance, an employee is entitled to annual leave with pay after having been employed under a continuous contract for every 12 months. An employee shall take the paid annual leave to which he is entitled within the following period of 12 months. Any employer who fails to do so is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a maximum fine of $50,000.
Ends/Thursday, December 21, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:42
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