The Hong Kong Labor Department has revoked the licenses of six employment agencies so far this year, most recently in Tai Wai, New Territories, after that one failed to provide copies of the employment contracts to foreign domestic workers and their employers.
The department’s Employment Agencies Administration (EAA) pulled the license of Festival City Employment Service Co in Tai Wai for failing to comply with the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies, a department spokesman said in a statement on November 15.
The EAA said it had repeatedly warned the agency about the matter but the company failed to comply. According to the Labor Department, this was the sixth removal of an employment agency’s license this year.
Previously, the department revoked the license of Java Maid Recruitment Service, an employment agency in Causeway Bay, for overcharging a job-seeker. Another agency in Mong Kok was found to have a bankrupt operator.
Three others losing their licenses were Sunday Employment Agency in Prince Edward, Chun Hing Agency in Sham Shui Po and In On Domestic Employment in Kwai Chung. The first withheld the passports of domestic workers without reasonable excuse, the second failed to come up with a service agreement with job-seekers and employers, and the third had employers deduct their domestic workers’ salaries to pay for their fees.
“If an employment agency fails to comply with the code despite warnings, the commissioner may consider revoking or refusing to renew the employment agency’s license,” the Labor Department said.
The department warned employment agencies to conduct their businesses in compliance with the law and the Code of Practice at all times. It said the EAA would conduct regular and surprise inspections.
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