The November update covers the following: an update on the new Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022 in India. As the name suggests, the bill only covers processing of digital personal data. Consider the implications of the bill on employee data here. in Mainland China, we take a look at some examples of non-compete clauses which have been held to … Read more

The October update covers the following: an update on equal employment regulations in the PRC, including the recent circular addressing discrimination against employees who recovered from COVID-19. Read the update here. in Singapore, the High Court in Kallivalap Praveen Nair v Glaxosmithkline Consumer Healthcare Pte Ltd [2022] SGHC 261 dismissed an employee’s breach of contract claim relating to his loss … Read more

The Hong Kong District Court has re-confirmed that ‘internal’ injuries suffered by employees are not compensable under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282) (ECO) if they are not caused by an accident that happened at work. This issue arose in a recent Hong Kong District Court decision 馮应培 v CHINA STATE – SHUI ON JOINT VENTURE and Another … Read more

An employer agrees to a clause in an employment contract requiring it to pay an employee two years’ salary if it terminates the employee’s employment within the first three years of the contract. Can that employer later terminate the employee and seek to avoid paying the two years’ salary by claiming that the clause is … Read more

The Hong Kong District Court has provided a timely reminder to employers of the importance of ensuring that fair and proper processes are followed in the handling of sexual harassment complaints. In this case, a male employee accused by a co-worker of sexual harassment succeeded in arguing that his termination by the employer amounted to … Read more

In a recent Hong Kong District Court decision Chow Kai Yan v Kingsway Cars T Service Ltd [2022] HKDC 165, the Court confirmed that an employee who suffered a stroke at work had not sustained an “injury by accident” which would entitle him to statutory compensation under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance (Cap.282) (ECO). This case … Read more

On 15 June 2022, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2022 (Bill), which has been introduced by the Hong Kong Government in February 2022 – during the outbreak of the fifth wave of Covid-19 in the city. The Bill will come into force on a date to be gazetted and will … Read more

The long-awaited changes, which will abolish the current MPF offsetting arrangements against severance or long service payment, have been published, introduced and passed as one of the first bills for the 2022 legislative session. This article gives an overview of the changes and transitional arrangements. Abolishing the offsetting arrangement Currently, employers are permitted to offset … Read more