Retailers and the restaurant and catering sector top a hit list of industries the Labour Department promises it will be stringently checking for compliance with the new minimum wage.
The Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) rate was adjusted to $32.50 per hour on May 1.
Since then, labour inspectors have conducted 7169 inspections in May and June 2015 for routine checks and targeted enforcement campaigns.
The LD said it was particularly focused on compliance within various sectors, including catering, retail, estate management, security and cleaning services, elderly homes, laundry and dry cleaning services and local courier services.
The department says employers must remember that the wages payable to an employee in respect of any wage period, when averaged over the total number of hours worked in the wage period, should not be less than the SMW rate.
“Failure to pay the minimum wage amounts to a breach of wage provisions under the Employment Ordinance (EO). According to the EO, an employer who wilfully and without reasonable excuse fails to pay wages to an employee when it becomes due is liable to prosecution and, upon conviction, to a maximum fine of $350,000 and to imprisonment for three years,” an LD spokesman said.
“The LD has been conducting stringent enforcement actions to investigate wage offences relating to non-compliance with the SMW with a view to taking speedy prosecution action against wilful offenders. If a limited company has committed a wage offence with the consent, connivance or neglect of its director or responsible person, the culpable director or responsible person may also be prosecuted,” he added.
During the last two months’ inspections, 20,750 employees were interviewed for checking employers’ compliance with the Minimum Wage Ordinance and advised on the provisions. But no suspected offence cases have been detected so far and it said the state of law compliance is satisfactory in general.
“The LD will continue to carry out stringent enforcement actions and monitor the implementation of the SMW effectively. Employees who suspect that their employment rights are being infringed should contact the LD through its complaint hotline (2815 2200). The LD will promptly investigate all complaints upon receipt.”
For more details of the SMW requirements, employers and employees are advised to obtain a copy of the Concise Guide to Statutory Minimum Wage and the other relevant guidelines at the Labour Department’s website, or call the enquiry hotline on 2717 1771 (handled by 1823).