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Employment

Employment of Non-local Students

Non-local fresh graduates of full-time locally-accredited local programmes at degree or higher level may apply to stay in Hong Kong for one year after graduation to take up employment. Returning non-local graduates may also apply to return to Hong Kong for employment if the job they have secured is at a level normally taken up by degree-holders and remunerated at market rates.

Supplementary Labour Scheme

Under the Supplementary Labour Scheme, employers may apply to the Labour Department to import workers to fill vacancies at technician level or below. The government's policy on labour importation is based on two principles:

local workers must be given priority in filling job vacancies available in the job market; and

• employers who are genuinely unable to recruit local workers to fill their vacancies should be allowed to import workers.

All applications are considered on a case-by-case basis. To ensure priority of employment for local workers, employers must undertake a four-week open recruitment for each application. The department will then pass the application and the department's recommendation to the Labour Advisory Board for views and then the Commissioner for Labour for a decision. The requirements of open recruitment are: advertising in newspapers, job-matching by the Labour Department and, if appropriate, organising retraining courses for local workers with the assistance of ERB.

As at December 2014, 2,990 imported workers were working in Hong Kong under the scheme.

Foreign Domestic Helpers

Foreign domestic helpers may be admitted, subject to immigration control, if they have relevant working experience and their employers are Hong Kong residents who will offer the terms of employment stipulated in the standard employment contract prescribed by the government. The terms of employment include free and suitable accommodation at the employer's residence, free food or food allowance in lieu, wages not lower than the minimum allowable wage set by the government, free passage from and to the helper's place of origin and free medical treatment. Employers must also meet the required levels of income or assets.

As at December 2014, there were 330,650 foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, an increase of 3.01 per cent from 2013. The Philippines and Indonesia respectively accounted for 52.3 per cent and 45.3 per cent of the number of foreign domestic helpers.

Occupational Safety and Health

The Labour Department continues to improve safety and health standards in the workplace through inspection and enforcement, publicity and promotion, and education and training. Safety and health at work in Hong Kong have shown clear signs of improvements in the last

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