Hong Kong labour chief urges haste in changes to employment law to allow sick leave for quarantined residents and firing staff who ignore vaccine requirements
- Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong says bill will be discussed in Legco on Wednesday
- According to the amendment, employees can be fired for not adhering to vaccine pass rules or refusing to get vaccinated without valid medical reasons
Hong Kong’s labour minister has urged lawmakers to “quickly” pass an amendment to a law that would allow workers to take sick leave for quarantine and employers to sack staff who fail to fulfil vaccine pass requirements.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said on his official blog on Sunday the bill would be discussed in Legco on Wednesday.
“To clarify employment issues caused by employees’ absence from work due to quarantine and compliance with the requirements of the vaccine pass, the legal amendment [of the employment law] is a priority,” he said.
“I hope the bill will be dealt with quickly in Legco, and employment issues arising from the anti-epidemic measures will be clarified from a legal perspective.”
Law added that the Labour Department had been overwhelmed during the pandemic. It was assisting with an amendment bill on work-related injuries and the abolition of the Mandatory Provident Fund offsetting mechanism, all of which had contributed to the delay in changes to the employment law.
According to the pandemic-related amendment, employees can be fired for not adhering to vaccine pass rules or refusing to get vaccinated without valid medical reasons.
