6th February 2023 – (Hong Kong) Sweetheart Garden Provision Holdings Limited which operates several branches of Sweetheart Garden Restaurant in Hong Kong was prosecuted by the Labour Department (LD) for failing to make timely payment of wages to employees as required by the Employment Ordinance (EO). The company pleaded guilty at Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts today and was fined $105,600.
The company failed to pay five employees in accordance with the EO wages totalling about HK$310,000 within seven days after the expiry of the wage period.
“The ruling will disseminate a strong message to all employers that they have to pay wages to employees within the statutory time limit stipulated in the EO,” a spokesman for the LD said.
“The LD will not tolerate these offences and will spare no effort in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees’ statutory rights,” the spokesman added.