Posted by
Simone's
7 yrs ago
My company is going through some downsizing activity and jobs are at risk. I am on an expat contract and have been for the last 10 years (renewed several times). As part of my contract, I receive gratuity at the end of each contract term.
Now, my current 5 year contract ended in December last year and was been extended on the same terms for 6 months. My extended contract now expires at the end of June.
Id like to get a handle on how my situation relates to the HK Employment Ordinance and whether I will be entitled to severance/long term service payments etc.
If I let my contract run until the end of June, would the company just say farewell and that would be it, or would i be entitled to anything under the Ordinance?
I don't want to resign now, as that would rule out any such pay offs, so am keen to know what my options are.
As stated, im on a rolling expat contract, gratuity at the end of each term, with Company contributions to a pension.
thanks
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I'm not an expert, and I'd be interested to hear what others have to say, but from memory your entitlement under the Ordinance probably won't add up to much relatively speaking. It also factors in MPF contributions made by the company, again from memory. So if you are expecting to receive "X" under the Ordinance (representing the number of years with the company multiplied by notional figure), you actually have to take into account that some of "X" is MPF money you've already been given.
So if it's an "either / or" situation, I'm guessing that waiting to take the gratuity is a far better option. Labour laws here are more geared towards the employer than you'd get in the UK, US, Oz etc.
That's my reading but I'm happy to hear other insights.
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If your position in the company is closed due to redundancy you take 2/3 of your salary times the length of time you worked and that is your package. However, you should know that your employer may use some of your MPF funds they paid to you to off set your final package. You can call 1823 and ask for Labour Dept.
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thanks. Will this be the case if my contract just runs and expires naturally? Could they just turn around and say thanks, bye bye? Or are they obligated to pay something? (regardless of the offset possibility)
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Again, you will have to check but I think it will depend on how your six months are viewed contractually, even if the terms are the same. Part of your continuous service or as a new separate add-on?
I'm pretty sure the Ordinance only covers redundancy if you have worked continuously for at least a couple of years. So if these six months are not tied into your previous 5 years I'm not sure what you're entitled to.
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The six months in currently in the middle of is an extension of my previously signed 5 year contract. No 'new' contract has been drawn up for this - its simply an extension of the original, so in effect, my current contract is 5.5 years.
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you have a strong case for a redundancy at the end of June. Take a wait and see stance and perhaps start to look for another position now? That is if you really feel they have problems within the company. Really Labour can help you , they do speak english and you don't have to give them details of your employer to get questions answered.
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