Agency associate fined $15,000 for overcharging FDH

Sha Tin Magistrates' Courts

The Sha Tin Magistrates Courts earlier today (November 1) ordered an associate of an employment agency to pay a fine of $15,000 for overcharging a foreign domestic worker, the Labour Department (LD) said.

In a statement, the LD said the tribunal also ordered the agency associate to refund the excessive placement fee of $5,548 to the domestic worker.

“The LD reminds EAs (employment agencies) to operate in full compliance with the law and the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies at all times. Failure to do so may lead to prosecution and/or revocation of licence,” the LD said.

It said the Employment Agencies Administration (EAA) received a complaint in May from the domestic worker against the Loyalty Team Employment Agency, located in Sha Tin, “about charging her an excessive commission.”

“When an investigation revealed sufficient evidence that the associate of the licensee of the EA concerned had overcharged the FDH, the LD decided to prosecute the associate of the licensee,” the statement said.

According to the law, a licensee or an associate, or a person purporting to act as such a licensee or associate, is not allowed to collect from a job seeker any fees or charges other than the prescribed commission, which should not exceed “10 per cent of the first month’s salary of the job seeker.”

The LD reminded the public that the Employment Ordinance was amended on February 9, 2018 and the maximum penalty for overcharging job seekers was raised to a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.

For enquiries or complaints about unlicensed operations or overcharging by EAs, please call the EAA of the LD at 2115 3667, or visit its office at Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon.