TNAG-0872-FCO40-1082-Legislation-for-employment-in-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 26

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(2) Where the tribunal by reason of subsection

(1) has no jurisdiction over part of a claim, it

may, with the consent of the parties, sever that

part of the claim over which it has no jurisdiction

and hear and determine the part over which it has

jurisdiction.

Explanatory Memorandum

The object of this Bill is to extend the

period within which claims may be filed with the

Labour Tribunal. At present, in the absence of an

agreement by the parties to give jurisdiction to

the Tribunal, a claim must be filed within 6 months

of the date when the cause of action arose. In

practice this limitation restricts the filing of some

types of claim, for example, claims in respect of

leave pay or bonuses. Claimants must then proceed

ECOS

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in other courts, even though the practice and

procedure of the Tribunal is best suited to their claims. Accordingly clause 2 of the Bill extends rii

the limitation period in section 9 of the Ordinance

from 6 months to 12.

*

Clause 3 is a transitional provision to

prevent the extended period from applying to a claim

where, at the commencement of the amending Ordinance,

the cause of action is already more than 6 months old.

The Bill has no significant financial or

staffing implications.

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