Can an employer claw back a salary in HK?

My prospective employer (a small brokerage firm) sent me a contract and I am supposed to relocate to HK. My small salary is draw based meaning that as I earn commissions from my work I have to repay that first before gaining anything extra. Basically it is a salary that needs to be repaid. Given this there is the obvious risk that the employer may never be repaid as my commissions generated may or may not materialize (I'm hopeful though!). In any event in the contract the employer has stipulated all kinds of clauses which gives them the right make me repay the salary. I am a little worried signing this as it is costing a lot of money already moving my family to HK and wanted to know if this was legal in HK and something that could be enforced?

HK is known for its laissez-faire capitalism.

You and your employer are free to write your contracts (pretty much) anyway you want.

Whether or not a court will enforce it is a totally different story.

If you do not generate any commissions to cover your expenses, it would be highly unlikely that your employer will bother to take action against you based on the contract. Even if they did, it is highly unlikely that a court will enforce it. (unless of course, the salary advance is very big, and/or you have mis-represented yourself in securing the advance.)


BTW, your contract is not that uncommon in the broker/agency commission based industry.

Thanks very much for your reply, real helpful.