Contracts for employment outside HK must be observed
Every contract for employment outside Hong Kong must be signed by the employer or his representative and the employee before the employee leaves Hong Kong.
The contract must contain all the particulars required by the Contracts for Employment Outside Hong Kong Ordinance to define the rights and obligations of both parties and be presented to the Commissioner for Labour for attestation before the employee's departure.
The acting Labour Officer (Employment Agencies & External Employment), Mr David Tam, said today (Saturday) that the Ordinance applied to all contracts entered into in Hong Kong by manual employees and those non-manual employees with monthly wages not exceeding $20,000 who were employed to work outside Hong Kong by employers who were not in Hong Kong and were not running a business locally.
"An employer or his agent will commit an offence if he fails to obtain a written contract or present a contract for attestation by the Commissioner before the employee leaves Hong Kong.
"Moreover, a person will commit an offence if he induces an employee to enter into a contract which does not comply with the Ordinance or leave Hong Kong to take up employment before the contract is attested," he explained.
The maximum penalty for each offence is $50,000.
Enquiries on overseas employment may be made to the Labour Department's External Employment Service on 2852 3511 or 2852 3540.
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