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正所謂「天下無不散之筵席」，在職場上離離合合是很常見的。這一節「長者法網智多聲」，就為大家介紹一下，終止僱傭關係和解僱員工，有甚麼需要注意。
無論您是老闆還是打工仔，在終止僱傭合約時，都必須根據合約規定給予對方正式的預先通知，或給予代通知金。如果合約沒有訂明預先通知期，一般來說，就是要最少一個月前通知。而在終止僱傭關係或僱傭合約屆滿時，僱主就要跟員工「埋單計數」了，說的是他們要向員工支付的錢，當中包括未支付的工資、未放的年假以金錢代替、未發放的年終酬金、長期服務金或遣散費、還有約滿酬金或公積金等。除了遣散費之外，僱主必須在實際可行的情況下，盡快將剛才所講的款項，給予離職的員工，通常是在七日之內，而遣散費就要在兩個月內支付。如果僱主不準時給予這些金錢，就是犯法。要留意了，員工不會同時得到長期服務金和遣散費，如果想知道這兩種款項怎樣計算，可以到勞工處的網頁了解。
當然，老闆有時候也需要解僱員工。根據《僱傭條例》，假如僱員刻意不服從合法和合理的指令、行為不當、犯了詐騙或不誠實的行為、或慣性地疏忽職守，僱主就可以即時解僱，毋須預先通知或給予代通知金。即時解僱是嚴重的紀律處分，只有在員工犯了非常嚴重的失當行為，或老闆多次警告都沒有改善的情況下，才可以即時解僱。同樣，如果僱員在履行職務期間，合理地擔心自己會受到暴力或疾病危害、僱員被老闆虐待、或在工作期滿五年的情況下，被醫生證實他永遠不再適合做這份工作，亦可以即時終止僱傭合約，而不用預先通知或給予代通知金。
不過，如果員工懷孕期間被解僱、放有薪病假期間被解僱、或因參加工會而被解僱等，都可能是不合理解僱。
遇到這些問題，員工可以向勞工處勞資關係科求助。勞工處職員會安排員工和僱主初步調解，如果解決不了，案件就可能要交由勞資審裁處審理。
任何事最理想當然是「好來好去」，但是萬一不歡而散，打工仔就要爭取自己的權益了。這一節就說到這裡，多謝大家收聽。
PrintUnreasonable dismissal
Under section 32K of the Employment Ordinance, the five valid reasons for dismissal or variation of the terms of an employment relate to:
- the conduct of the employee;
- the capability or qualification to perform work;
- redundancy or other genuine operational requirements of the business;
- statutory requirements; or
- other substantial reasons.
If an employee has been employed under a continuous contract for not less than 24 months and is dismissed by the employer without a valid reason as specified above, then the dismissal would be unreasonable.
With regard to “the conduct of the employee”, there are many examples of employees’ misconducts which may be considered as valid reasons for dismissal. These examples include: persistent lateness, drunkenness during working hours and disclosing confidential information, etc.
Dismissal in the following circumstances contravenes the law:
- dismissal of a pregnant employee;
- dismissal while the employee is on paid sick leave;
- dismissal because an employee has given evidence or information in any proceedings or inquiry in connection with the enforcement of labour legislation, industrial accidents or breach of work safety regulations;
- dismissal for trade union membership and activities; or
- dismissal of an injured employee before the parties concerned have entered into an agreement for employee’s compensation or before the issue of a certificate of assessment for the injury.
If the employee is dismissed other than by a valid reason as specified in the Employment Ordinance AND the dismissal is in contravention of the law as specified in (1) to (5) above, it would result in an unreasonable and unlawful dismissal.
If you are facing unreasonable dismissal or unreasonable variation of the terms of the employment contract, before bringing the dispute to Court, you can try to seek assistance from the Labour Relations Division of the Labour Department (telephone hotline: 27171771 or email: enquiry@labour.gov.hk). The staff of this Division provides a preliminary conciliation service to help in settling disputes and claims.