On 6 June 2019, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal ruled that the Hong Kong Government could not deny spousal benefits to employees because they are in a same-sex marriage. The Court’s decision only applies to the provision of employee benefits to government employees, but it has increased local focus on discrimination based on … Read more
Employers control the extent of information that they provide employees – from how well they are meeting KPIs, to internal discussions about grievances, remuneration and disciplinary actions. In the majority of cases, employers have no obligation to provide to employees information setting out the basis for remuneration or disciplinary outcomes including information which is part … Read more
Employers can suffer significant financial and reputational damage from the actions of their employees. While dismissal with or without notice is the most common recourse for serious misconduct or negligence, increasingly employers are looking to take stronger action by recovering their losses from employees guilty of wrongdoing. An employer did just that in the recent … Read more
Two recent English decisions highlight the particular challenges when managing legal professional privilege in the context of resolving employee issues. We consider these decisions and how the principles may apply in Hong Kong and other common law jurisdictions in relation to dominant purpose, waiver and iniquity and the lessons that they provide to employers in … Read more
In the 2018 Policy Address on 10 October 2018, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR Carrie Lam announced several key proposals in respect of benefits available to employees under Hong Kong law. Read more
A landmark decision of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) has upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal (discussed here) that the Hong Kong Director of Immigration’s policy of refusing to grant dependant visas to same sex spouses is discriminatory and not justified (QT v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCFA 28). Read more
Amendments to the Employment Ordinance (“EO“) which strengthen the Labour Tribunal’s (“LT“) powers to make an order for reinstatement or re-engagement where an employee has been unreasonably and unlawfully dismissed have been passed and are to take effect from 19 October 2018. This represents a move away from the current position where both the employer … Read more
The law recognises that employees may create valuable intellectual property during their employment, ownership of which should ordinarily rest with their employer. The recent case of Acron International Technology Ltd v Chan Yiu Wai [2017] 3 HKLRD 799 demonstrates how the law can protect an employer’s rights in respect of such intellectual property from misappropriation … Read more
