Hong Kong employment laws establish a light-touch framework for employee discipline, providing employers with a wide degree of flexibility as to what procedures to follow. In this article, we discuss what employers and employees need to know if there is any allegation of employee wrongdoing. We place particular emphasis on employment relationships within regulated financial industries. If you’d like more information about your rights, whether as an employer or employee, please contact one of our employment lawyers.

Allegations of wrongdoing in the workplace place employers and employees in a position of conflict. They can destroy the trust and confidence necessary for the employment relationship to work and can lead to disciplinary action that can, ultimately, result in the end of that relationship. For regulated employees, such as licensed representatives or responsible officers of SFC licensed or registered firms, the mere investigation of wrongdoing can, if coupled with the end of the employment relationship, prejudice the employee’s career.

Due Process

The Hong Kong Employment Ordinance (“EO”) establishes a statutory framework which governs the relationship between employers and employees. However, it does not provide any guidance on what procedures employers must follow in employee discipline matters. In particular, it does not require that an employer provide a fair hearing to the employee before terminating an employee’s employment or taking other disciplinary...

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