TNAG-0872-FCO40-1082-Legislation-for-employment-in-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 53

HONG KONG

LEGAL REPORT

THE EMPLOYMENT (AMENDMENT) ORDINANCE 1979

(No. 11 of 1979)

Enclosure No. 2

The purpose of this Ordinance is to clarify the provisions and simplify the operation of Part VIIIA of the Employment Ordinance (which provides for 7 days annual leave with pay), in the light of experience since the commencement of that Part on 1 January 1978.

2. The combination of statutory holidays and annual leave days formerly permitted to make up an annual period of 7 consecutive days of absence with pay caused difficulty. It is to meet this that section 2 of this Ordinance requires all the 7 consecutive days to be days of annual leave, and statutory holidays coinciding with any of these 7 consecutive days of annual leave to be granted at some other time. Section 2 is designed to make it clear that annual leave is in addition to rest days and statutory holidays.

3. Section 3 makes it clear that a day's pay is due for each and every day of annual leave so as to prevent an employee being deprived of such a day's pay by having it treated as a rest day.

4. The object of section 4(a) is to make it clear that once an employee completes a period of 12 months service, he is entitled to 7 days annual leave pay for that service regardless of how his contract is terminated. Section 4(b) merely includes within the qualifing period in section 41 D(2) of the principal Ordinance, a period of exactly 3 months (excluded by the expression "more than 3" months); this is more consistent with other provisions in the principal Ordinance and the original intention.

5.

Before the Governor assented to the Bill in the name and on behalf of Her Majesty, I advised that he could properly do so.

19 March 1979.

ATTORNEY GENERAL'S CHAMBERS,

HONG KONG.

Mooc

Attorney General.