Our firm’s Partner, Mr Lam Ching Man Roger, was interviewed by Ming Pao Daily News to delve into the issues surrounding employees compensation rights, particularly focusing on the difficulties and challenges faced by families of injured workers when employers fail to purchase labor insurance.

Employees’ compensation claims refer to the compensation requests made by employees who are injured or contract occupational diseases during or due to their work. These claims are made under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Hong Kong Law Cap. 282), which aims to protect the rights of employees injured or ill from their work, ensuring they receive compensation and medical expenses promptly, regardless of fault. According to Section 40 of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, all employers must purchase employees' compensation insurance (labor insurance) irrespective of the length of the employment contract or work hours, whether full-time or part-time, to cover their legal liabilities (including under common law). Otherwise, they are not allowed to employ workers for any job. Thus, the vast majority of workers' compensation is paid by insurance companies, not by employers.

However, in rare instances where employers have not purchased labor insurance, the employer must bear the compensation. If the employer is unable to pay, the compensation will be covered by the Employees Compensation Assistance Fund (ECAF).

The mechanism of the Employees Compensation Assistance Fund effectively ensures that employees do not lose their due compensation because of the absence of labor insurance. However, since the fund uses public money, it must first ascertain that the employer indeed cannot pay before disbursing compensation. This usually requires the injured party to liquidate or bankrupt the employer (company) before receiving compensation from the fund. This process is time-consuming and incurs legal fees.

In the Ming Pao interview, Mr Lam Ching Man Roger and the Chief Executive of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, Ms Siu Sin-man, discussed in detail the difficulties workers face when claiming compensation without labor insurance. They highlighted the particular challenges in fatal cases, where the families of the deceased might not receive timely compensation to support their household financially.

Original URL (Chinese language only): Ming Pao
Click here to contact Mr Lam
The Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims (Chinese language only)