Cheung’s life has turned upside down since he survived a serious injury at work almost two years ago. He lost his health, then his savings, his family, and eventually his home. All the while, he has not received the compensation he is entitled to under Hong Kong’s labour law.
A Hong Kong construction worker becomes homeless after a March 2023 accident at work almost took his life and not receiving from his employer compensation stipulated under the city’s labour law. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
In March 2023, Cheung – who requested to use a pseudonym for fear of reprisals from his employer – fell from an elevated platform and landed sideways on a water pipe. His lungs were pierced by two fractured ribs and he was hospitalised for weeks.
Now 70, Cheung has not been able to work since. Doctors have extended his sick leave until March.
According to the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, employees that sustain an injury while at work are entitled to monthly “periodical payments” from their employer for up to two years of sick leave and up to 80 per cent of their previous earnings.
Cheung made about HK$38,000 a month prior to his fall. During an interview with HKFP earlier this month he said he had received one payment to that amount from his employer after the accident, but that was all.
He took his case to the Labour Department last year but had not been able to recover the compensation he was owed.
‘No benefits’ in filing complaint
Social worker Ng Wai-tung, who has been helping Cheung with his case, told HKFP that filing a complaint to the Labour Department, which is responsible for pursuing legal action against labour law violations, and recovering owed compensation were two separate matters under existing legislation.
“If there is a criminal conviction, the company will have to pay a fine to the government and nothing to the employee,” Ng, of the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO), said in Cantonese. Employers that fail to pay employees’ work-related injury compensation face criminal liability and could be fined up to HK$100,000.
Separately, employees can only seek compensation by lodging a civil claim at the Small Claims Tribunal, which handles claims below HK$75,000, or at the District Court for larger amounts.
Society for Community Service social worker Ng Wai-tung (right) has been helping with the case of Cheung after at first receiving him as a homeless case in late 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
“I have come to understand why employers are less afraid [of being prosecuted], because employees would have to sacrifice their own working hours to pursue a case,” Ng said.
“Even if [an employee] assists the authorities in prosecuting the employer, they will only succeed in punishing the company and they will not see any benefits themselves,” he added.
This creates a dilemma in which the employee is not incentivised to help the Labour Department pursue a prosecution, while they may also lack the resources to file a civil claim, Ng said.
As Cheung navigated the process of lodging a claim, he spent his life savings recovering from the injury, separated from his family, and ended up on the streets before being referred to SoCO.
“While society has been concerned about work deaths and whether family members receive compensation, many people have neglected legislation on work-related injury compensation,” Ng said.
“Why is the protection for employees almost non-existent in such law?” he asked.
‘A lot of hurdles’
Cheung’s case highlighted the difficulties employees suffering from work-related injuries faced while seeking compensation, Ng said.
The process of filing a complaint with the Labour Department begins with giving a verbal statement and providing proof of work and injury. Many – Cheung among them – did not complete even this first step, Ng said.
Hong Kong’s Labour Department. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
“Many employees may have to go to court [as a prosecution witness] after giving a verbal statement [to the department]. How would they have time for that if they start another job?” Ng said.
Fay Siu, chief executive of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, told HKFP that the Labour Department relied on the employee for any criminal investigation.
“The employee is the only witness if the company has not paid [compensation]. If the employee chooses not to give a statement, there isn’t a case,” Siu said in Cantonese in a phone interview.
Even if the department referred the employee to the Legal Aid Department to lodge a civil claim – as it had in Cheung’s case – the sheer time it took to go to court could be a deterrent, Siu said.
“A legal process inevitably drags on and exhausts the worker,” she said.
Fay Siu, chief executive of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
To Cheung, there was another reason for not wanting to assist with a prosecution – fears of retaliation if he chose to accuse his employer in court.
“I will not get a cent at all [in a prosecution],” he said in Cantonese. “[The employer] will certainly resent me for harming them for nothing.”
Add to that the uncertainty of the outcome and unfamiliarity with the law, and many labourers simply gave up on pursuing a prosecution, Siu said.
“It’s a lot of hurdles,” she said.
In an emailed reply to HKFP, the Labour Department said it had received over 40,000 compensation claims from workers made under the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance each year between 2022 and 2024.
During that three-year period, it made 103, 190, and 86 prosecutions against employers regarding non-payment of work-related injury compensation, resulting in 96, 173, and 38 convictions, respectively.
2022
2023
2024
Compensation claims
42,358
41,758
41,498
Summonses Heard
103
190
86
Summonses Convicted
96
173
38
Source: Labour Department
The department said it does not maintain statistics on the number of workers who opted out of investigation after they made a compensation claim.
‘We can be more proactive’
When it came to compensating employees who had been injured, both Ng and Siu said a lot depended on the “proactivity” of the frontline Labour Department officers following their claims.
Social worker Ng Wai-tung of the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) said the process of lodging a claim has not been friendly to many injured workers. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
According to the department’s performance standards and targets for last year, it has pledged to handle compensation claims for injured employees within weeks of receiving a work-related injury report from the employer.
Last month, Ng asked the Labour Department why Cheung’s case had not been processed almost two years after his accident. In a letter seen by HKFP, the department said in response that it had sent letters to Cheung’s employer, warning that it could be held legally liable for not paying compensation. The department added that it had not been able to reach Cheung after he did not finish giving his oral statement last July.
By that time, Cheung said he had already moved out of his registered residence and into temporary accommodation, which was later demolished, forcing him onto the streets.
The work accident in March 2023 almost took Cheung’s life, and he could not easily walk the stairs ever since. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Tik Chi-yuen, a lawmaker of the social welfare sector, said it was “unsatisfactory” that the Labour Department did not follow up after failing to reach Cheung.
“Workers are often in a very weak position, having no resources, or knowledge, or the time to wrestle with [the employer], and we should be playing the supporting role. We should not ask why they don’t come to us, because they are already facing a lot of challenges,” he told HKFP in Cantonese.
He suggested that the Labour Department set up case managers to follow work-related injury compensation cases, such as Cheung’s, to facilitate communication with workers and with other government departments such as legal aid or social welfare.
“We can be more proactive and avoid delays… for the person who suffers the most is the worker,” Tik said.
The power to arbitrate
To Siu, the lack of safeguards for injured employees also stemmed from the fact that the Labour Department was not capable of ordering compensation payments – a power that lies exclusively with the courts.
After receiving a complaint from a worker, the department sends a warning letter to their employer, Siu said, but such letters were possible to ignore.
And while the department could provide conciliation between workers and employers, helping both parties sort out their disagreement, if that failed it would have to resort to the courts for adjudication.
A man walks past the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts in Hong Kong, on September 19, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
“I think the problem is that the Labour Department does not have the power to arbitrate,” Siu said. “That is, if it is clear and evident that an employer has not paid [compensation] without reasonable excuses, then it should be able to rule that the employer has violated the rules.”
Tik supported the idea, saying it would help injured workers if the Labour Department were given the power to order compensation in cases where the employer “evidently” could have done more.
“The Labour Department could be made an arbiter with the power to make temporary arrangements, so that it can actually help workers,” he said, but added that the proposal would require further discussion as existing legislation would have to be amended.
Cheung still needs to visit the hospital for frequent checks. He recently moved into a government-funded shelter for homeless people but has had little contact with his family after he and his wife divorced in late 2023.
Hong Kong injured worker Cheung said he suffered unmeasurable losses during the process of trying to recover his compensation. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
If he is found to have permanently lost his capacity to work by a statutory board, he could be in line for yet more compensation.
But the construction worker said he had suffered losses beyond those that money could compensate since the accident.
“Why did they not pay me the money after the accident?” Cheung said. “Now that my family is broken, how do you compensate that? My suffering, how could you measure that?”
Ng told HKFP this week that Cheung had not yet decided whether to assist the Labour Department with a criminal investigation, but that he had filed a civil claim and applied for legal aid.
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
Original reporting on HKFP is backed by our monthly contributors.
Almost 1,000 monthly donors make HKFP possible. Each contributes an average of HK$200/month to support our award-winning original reporting, keeping the city’s only independent English-language outlet free-to-access for all. Three reasons to join us:
🔎 Transparent & efficient: As a non-profit, we are externally audited each year, publishing our income/outgoings annually, as the city’s most transparent news outlet.
🔒 Accurate & accountable: Our reporting is governed by a comprehensive Ethics Code. We are 100% independent, and not answerable to any tycoon, mainland owners or shareholders. Check out our latest Annual Report, and help support press freedom.
💰 It’s fast, secure & easy: We accept most payment methods – cancel anytime, and receive a free tote bag and pen if you contribute HK$150/month or more.
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
Original reporting on HKFP is backed by our monthly contributors.
Almost 1,000 monthly donors make HKFP possible. Each contributes an average of HK$200/month to support our award-winning original reporting, keeping the city’s only independent English-language outlet free-to-access for all. Three reasons to join us:
🔎 Transparent & efficient: As a non-profit, we are externally audited each year, publishing our income/outgoings annually, as the city’s most transparent news outlet.
🔒 Accurate & accountable: Our reporting is governed by a comprehensive Ethics Code. We are 100% independent, and not answerable to any tycoon, mainland owners or shareholders. Check out our latest Annual Report, and help support press freedom.
💰 It’s fast, secure & easy: We accept most payment methods – cancel anytime, and receive a free tote bag and pen if you contribute HK$150/month or more.
