Quitting Job, Loopholes in Contract

Hi folks,

The company I currently work for sponsored my work visa and I moved to HK about 4 months ago. I receive absolutely ZERO job satisfaction and am looking to change careers.

My contract states:

1. "You may terminate this contract with one month's written notice"

2. "If you terminate your employment for whatever reasons during the first 6 months, it will be at our (the company - let's call it "Company A") discretion to require you to reimburse the training fees, recruitment charges, and the orientation expenses incurred by us in an amount equivalent to one month's salary paid to you by us.

The questions I have are:

A) Assuming I have another job offer from a different company, will I be eligible to begin work for them immediately after my termination? (my work visa expires Nov 2018)

B) Is the fact that Company A has not specified a timeline associated with the expense reimbursement a loophole in the contract which I could potentially take advantage of?

C) is the fact that Company A says "it's at our discretion to require $X" a potential loophole?

Thank you kindly!

A. Your new employer will need to make a new visa application for you before you can start work. Your current visa is specific to your employment with "company A"

B. They are going to require the payment immediately and will stop your salary payment, I would expect. It would be reasonable to expect to pay this at the end of your employment.

C. The loophole here is perhaps for you to talk to your employer and ask them to exercise their discretion.


I would suggest that you contact the labour department and ask for some advice. They have a service to give free advice.