Social media harassment incident a reason to remind Hong Kong employers of anti-sexual harassment law
In January, the media noted social media posts about a female employee from a Korean chain restaurant who complained about an alleged sexual harassment by her branch manager and co-workers. This was said to involve nicknames and comments of a sexual nature about her physical appearance. Screenshots of the alleged harassment in the work chatgroups were posted online and reported.
This eventually caught the attention of the Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), which soon expressed concern over the incident and issued a press release in response to media enquiries. No further update about the incident appears to be publicly available since then.
In this article, we take this opportunity to revisit the key provisions and principles of anti-sexual harassment law in Hong Kong, particularly in a workplace setting.
Section 23(3) of the Sexual Discrimination Ordinance (SDO) provides that:
“It is unlawful for a person who is employed by another person at an establishment in Hong Kong to harass a woman who is seeking to be, or who is, employed by that second-mentioned person.”
And under s. 2(5) of the SDO, a person sexually harasses a woman if:
“(a) the person-
(i) makes an unwelcome sexual advance, or an unwelcome request for sexual favours, to her; or
(ii) engages in unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature in relation to her,
in circumstances in...
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