The Employment (Amendment) Bill 2016 was gazetted today and will be presented to the Legislative Council on March 2.
The bill aims to empower the Labour Tribunal to make an order for reinstatement or re-engagement as requested by an unreasonably and unlawfully dismissed employee, without having to secure the employer's prior agreement if such an order is considered appropriate and practicable.
A broad consensus has been reached at the Labour Advisory Board that the requirement to secure the employer's agreement in a case of unreasonable and unlawful dismissal should be removed, the Labour Department said.
The bill further proposes that where the tribunal has made an order for reinstatement or re-engagement in a case of unreasonable and unlawful dismissal, an employer who fails to follow the order shall pay the employee a sum three-times the employee's average monthly wage, subject to a maximum of $50,000.
This is on top of the monetary remedies payable to the employee as ordered by the tribunal as provided in the Employment Ordinance. The employer commits a criminal offence if he or she wilfully and without reasonable excuse fails to pay the sum.
