Loophole that benefits bosses may be closed
Workers denied sick leave, holiday pay on basis of working hours could gain new rights
The definition of continuous employment - which determines workers' rights to benefits including sick leave and holiday pay - is up for revision amid criticism that employers are using loopholes to avoid having to shell out.
The government has put forward five options to replace the present definition of continuous employment, as set out in the Employment Ordinance, of at least 18 hours' work in four weeks.
The move follows calls for a change to enable those whose hours fall short of the current definition to enjoy at least some benefits including leave, paid statutory holidays and rest days - especially when employers deliberately structure working hours to avoid paying these.
One option in a discussion paper by the Labour and Welfare Bureau, and preferred by the Labour Advisory Board, is to pro-rate benefits to working hours.
For instance, an employee working 18 hours would be entitled to 37.5 per cent of the benefits paid to an employee with a 48-hour working week. That would result in a drastic reduction in benefits for an employee who currently works 18 hours per week and enjoys full benefits.
Another possibility is that 18 hours a week be used as the benchmark and employees working nine hours a week could be eligible for 50 per cent of employment benefits.
Another approach that the Labour Advisory Board favoured is to change the basis of calculation from weekly to four-weekly. Workers would be considered to be in continuous employment as long as they worked at least 72 hours within four weeks.
But Confederation of Trade Unions chief executive Mung Siu-tat said loopholes would still exist, even if the calculation was four-weekly.
"Employers may still purposely require employees to work 71 hours in four weeks, so as to make them ineligible for employment benefits," he said.
He supported the pro-rata method and said it would not present big practical difficulties.
Census and Statistics Department figures show that in July 2011, there were 98,100 employees not engaged under continuous contracts - 3.4 per cent of all non-government employees.
The options will be discussed by the Legislative Council's manpower panel on Wednesday.
