CONFIDENTIAL
Criminal Injuries Compensation is available to those injured,
disabled or killed as a direct or indirect result of a crime of violence and Law Enforcement compensation is available to those accidentally injured, disabled or killed by a law enforcement officer using a weapon in the execution of his duty.
All these schemes are non-contributory, and only Public Assistance is means-tested.
The
Progress has been made in regard to social legislation. Employment Ordinance provides that all manual workers, and those non-manual workers earning HK$2,000 (US$400) or less a month, are entitled to one day's sick leave on half pay for each completed month of service, subject to the fulfilment of certain qualifications of service; paid sickness benefit can be accumulated up to 24 days. The Worknen's Compensation Ordinance has recently been amended to provide compensation payments at higher levels than previously and requires employers to supply, where necessary, prosthetic appliances, as a form of additional benefit for injured workers.
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ARTICLE 10(1)
Section 4 of the Marriage Reform Ordinance provides that marriages cntered into in Hong Kong on or after 7th October 1971 may be contracted only in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance, section 14(2) of which provides that both parties must enter into marriage voluntarily. "Kim Tiu" marriages (i.e. bigamy for the purpose of propagation of the future generations of two branches of the same family) and the custom of "Sampotsai" (i.e. betrothal of a child bride without her consent) have been rendered illegal.
ARTICLE 10(2)
Under the Employment Ordinance, a pregnant female employee is entitled, subject to the fulfilment of certain qualifications of service, to unpaid maternity leave which normally covers a period of four weeks before and six weeks after the date of confinement. Fully or partially paid maternity leave as a condition of employment is relatively rare except in the public service. However, working mothers who suffer a loss of earning power during a reasonable period before and after childbirth are entitled to Public Assistance if their total family income drops below the level set by the criteria of the Public Assistance Scheme,
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/ ARTICLE 10(3)
CONFIDENTIAL
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