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Russell Bennett
“You’re married to him?!” Is it an issue for employers in making employment decisions?
A person’s “marital status” is one of the protected characteristics under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (“SDO”). In the case of Cheuk Kit Man v FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited and Others [2025] Ms Cheuk claimed against FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited (“FWD”) and…Read More
Legal Update – Is stress an injury: when does ‘psychiatric trauma’ amount to a workplace injury?
In the recent case of Chan Man Sau[1] (“Chan”), the District Court looked at whether ‘psychiatric trauma’ can be regarded as a workplace injury. We summarise the key points of the decision as to whether and what conduct can cause mental injury to an employee…Read More
Key Employment Issues from the 2025 Policy Address
On 17 September 2025 the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR delivered his 2025 Policy Address. Amongst the topics were several notable employment related issues. We summarise them below: Statutory Minimum Wage (“SMW”) Labour Support and Protection Nurturing Talents Other Relevant Information Russell Bennett…Read More
SFC Consultation Conclusions and Consultation Proposal on Financial Resources Rules
The SFC recently proposed various amendments to the Securities and Futures (Financial Resources) Rules (“FRR”) for public consultation which would be relevant for any licensed corporations engaging in, or seeking to engage in, over-the-counter derivatives (“OTCD”) activities. The SFC initially proposed changes to the FRR…Read More
Legal Update: Proposed reduction on threshold on working hours for “continuous contract”
The Employment (Amendment) Bill 2025 (the “Bill”) proposes amendments aimed at enhancing labour protections by reducing the threshold of working hours in respect of “continuous contract” under the Employment Ordinance (“EO”) (see below). Current regime Currently, an employee employed by the same employer (i) continuously…Read More
Social media posts highlight workplace sexual harassment
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…Read More
Factors in deciding damages for “injury to feelings” in discrimination cases
Under express statutory provisions in each of the anti-discrimination ordinances of Hong Kong, a successful claimant may be awarded damages for “injury to feelings” in addition to other remedies. In this regard, Hong Kong follows the Vento scale established in the English case of Vento…Read More
SFC and HKEX collaborated in enforcement actions against a listed company and its former directors for misconduct involving over HK$660 million of losses, seeking disqualification and compensation orders
Background On 16 January 2025, the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“HKEX”) collaborated in enforcement actions against Mainboard-listed FingerTango Inc. (“FingerTango”) and eight (8) of its former directors (“Former Directors”) for misconduct and breach of their duties…Read More
Employment Law: 2024 Year in Review
From the spread of AI usage in the workplace to the government’s policy address setting the direction of the development of the employment market for the coming years, 2024 has been a busy year for employers and employees. At Tanner De Witt we have been…Read More
Legal Update: Recent Discrimination Case Uplifts Potential Damages for “Injury to Feelings”
In Hong Kong, statutory damages for “injury to feelings” can be awarded to victims of unlawful discrimination pursuant to specific provisions of the relevant discrimination Ordinances. The amount of damages for injury to feelings broadly follows the so called “Vento scale” established in the United…Read More
Legal Update: Court rejects Deliveroo rider’s claim as employees
Web-Platform workers such as Uber drivers and food delivery ‘riders’ are part of a new and developing group in Hong Kong, which has greatly expanded during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. The District Court case of Gurung, Sanjayaman v Deliveroo Hong Kong Limited [2024] HKDC…Read More
Risk of not handling discrimination complaints properly. Victimisation claim even where the discrimination case is dismissed.
The English Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) judgment in Miss E Carozzi v University of Hertfordshire and Ms A Lucas [2024] EAT 169 (“Carozzi”) is a recent example demonstrating that victimisation claim can arise even where the underlying discrimination claim may not be meritorious and in…Read More
