Employers and employees are urged to devise work arrangements as early as possible in view of the special traffic and transport measures or possible traffic disruptions during the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference to be held from December 13-18.

The Labour Department said if employees are late or cannot come back to work owing to traffic jams or protests, employers should be considerate and adopt a flexible approach.

They should not deduct employees' wages, dismiss them summarily or conduct disciplinary action against them.

Employers should understand the reason staff members may be late for work or absent from duty and consider carefully each case on its merits, the department said.