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Employment
Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund
The fund, which is financed by a levy on business registration certificates, provides timely relief to employees affected by their insolvent employers in the form of ex gratia payments covering outstanding wages, wages in lieu of notice, severance payment, pay for untaken annual leave and untaken statutory holidays.
In 2015, the fund received 3,486 applications for ex gratia payment, paid out $61.6 million to 2,894 applicants, and recorded a surplus of $335 million.
Employees' Compensation
The employees' compensation regime in Hong Kong follows the 'no-fault' principle, whereby compensation is payable regardless of whether the injury, occupational disease or death is due to the employee's fault. The Employees' Compensation Ordinance covers injury or death caused by accidents arising from and in the course of employment or by specified occupational diseases. An employer must have a valid insurance policy to cover his/her liabilities both under the ordinance and the common law.
The Labour Department helps injured employees and the families of deceased employees to get compensation from their employers under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance. It also provides interest-free loans to workers injured in job-related accidents. During the year, the department delivered talks, distributed leaflets, and made television and radio announcements to help employers and employees better understand their rights and obligations under the ordinance. An Employees Compensation Assistance Scheme provides assistance payment to injured employees or family members of deceased employees if the employers default on payment of compensation for work-related injuries. The scheme is financed by a levy imposed on all employees' compensation insurance policies taken out by employers.
Pneumoconiosis and/or mesothelioma sufferers are eligible for compensation under the Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance administered by the Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board. Those diagnosed to have contracted pneumoconiosis before the ordinance became effective in 1981 may apply for ex gratia payments from the government under the Pneumoconiosis Ex Gratia Scheme. As at 31 December 2015, 1,665 pneumoconiosis and/or mesothelioma sufferers were receiving payments under either the ordinance or the ex gratia scheme. Family members of 99 pneumoconiosis and/or mesothelioma sufferers who died from the diseases were also granted compensation in the year.
The Occupational Deafness Compensation Board administers the Occupational Deafness Compensation Scheme, which provides compensation for persons employed in specified noisy occupations who suffer hearing loss as a result of prolonged exposure to excessive noise at work, and financial assistance for hearing assistive devices. In 2015, the board approved 171 compensation applications and paid out $16.26 million. It also approved 572 applications to finance hearing assistive devices, costing $2.35 million, and provided 412 rehabilitation programmes for people with impaired hearing caused by their jobs.
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