News & Analysis as of

Hong Kong Employment Litigation

BCLP

Hong Kong High Court Grants Injunction to Enforce Restrictive Covenants

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In two separate decisions in April 2025, the Hong Kong High Court first refused, but then allowed, an IT company’s application for an interlocutory injunction to enforce post-termination restrictive covenants against its...more

BCLP

HK Court Rules That Gig Delivery Driver Was Not an Employee

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With the continued prevalence of the “gig economy”, a common question that arises is whether “gig workers” are employees or independent contractors of the digital platform. ...more

Mayer Brown

When Is Client Contact Information Confidential?

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Confidentiality is a key consideration in any commercial endeavour. To retain a competitive edge in the market, a business will often do its utmost to maintain the confidentiality of client information and business...more

Mayer Brown

Hong Kong Labour Tribunal Presiding Officer's Statutory Duty to Investigate Includes Calling Witnesses

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Proceedings in the Hong Kong Labour Tribunal are inquisitorial in nature, differing from the adversarial approach taken in court proceedings....more

Mayer Brown

When Confidential Information Cannot Be Protected Post-Termination of Employment in Hong Kong

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Not all "confidential information" can be protected post-termination of employment, as illustrated by the case of Conpak Management Consultants Limited v. Luk Wai Ting....more

Mayer Brown

Hong Kong Court Clarifies the Application of Implied Terms in Employment Contracts

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The recent case of Yang Zhizhong v. Nomura International (Hong Kong) Limited helpfully clarifies the applicability of Implied Term of Trust and Confidence, the Braganza duty and the Anti-avoidance Term in the context of...more

Mayer Brown

Hong Kong Court Confirms Labour Tribunal's Broad Powers to Order Employer Give Security to Defend Claim

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INTRODUCTION- In Chu Yeut Lin and Another v. Everbright Groups Limited [2024] HKCFI 1626, the Court of First Instance ("CFI") confirmed that the Labour Tribunal has a wide discretionary power to order the payment of...more

BCLP

HK High Court Refuses to Enforce a 12-month Worldwide Non-compete Covenant

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In Manulife Financial Asia Limited and Kenneth Joseph Rappold & Others [2024] HKCFI 989 (date of decision: 5 April 2024), the Hong Kong High Court refused a company’s application to enforce a 12-month non-compete clause...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Hot Topics: AI and ESG

The US Government Is Using AI To Detect Potential Wrongdoing, and Companies Should Too With agencies such as the SEC and DOJ using AI and other data analytics tools extensively to detect wrongdoing, companies need to adopt...more

Ius Laboris

Online retailer slapped with fine for late payment of wages

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An online luxury retail company was fined HKD 145,000 by a court in Hong Kong for failing to pay the wages of eleven of its employees on time....more

Ius Laboris

Hong Kong: Think twice before filing an employment claim directly to the High Court

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Under Hong Kong’s court rules, the Labour Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction over claims for money damages arising from an employment contract or the Employment Ordinance. A recent decision highlights the pitfalls in...more

Ius Laboris

Hong Kong employer required to reimburse expenses that benefit the business

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A Hong Kong court decision holding an employer liable for various payments and benefits owed to a former employee highlights the importance of making prompt payment of all amounts due upon termination of employment....more

Ius Laboris

Employer’s ‘springboard injunction’ attempt falls flat

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On 4 January 2023, Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance refused to grant a ‘springboard injunction’ against a former employee to protect the employer’s confidential information....more

Ius Laboris

No place for pregnancy discrimination

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A Hong Kong employee dismissed via WeChat while in hospital has been awarded substantial damages for pregnancy discrimination. The claimant was a former employee of a logistics company. Between 2007 and 2011, she was...more

Ius Laboris

Labour Tribunal rules on gig workers’ status

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The Labour Tribunal of Hong Kong has provided welcome guidance on determining the employment status of platform workers, in a case brought by sham-self-employed couriers....more

BCLP

Implied duty of mutual trust and confidence and employers’ right to terminate

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In Hong Kong, an implied duty of mutual trust and confidence (“Duty”) exists between an employer and an employee. This duty requires that an employer shall not “without reasonable and proper cause, conduct itself in a manner...more

BCLP

HK Court of Appeal confirmed modern test on penalties in the employment context

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In the recent important decision of Law Ting Pong Secondary School v Chen Wai Wah [2021] CA 873, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal adopted the modern test for penalty clauses as laid down in the UK Supreme Court decision in...more

BCLP

Employers’ power to suspend employees under HK law

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In Lengler Werner v. Hong Kong Express Airways Limited [2021] HKCFI 1333, the Court of First Instance (the “Court”) examined the power of “suspension” of an employee, including under section 11 of the Employment Ordinance...more

BCLP

UK Supreme Court’s decision on status of Uber drivers and its significance on gig economy

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Over the past decade, the rapid technological advancement has led to the emergence of the so-called “gig economy”. This term often refers to a market system whereby platform companies engage temporary or freelance workers to...more

Hogan Lovells

Courts in England and Hong Kong order immediate prison sentence and restate serious consequences of disobeying disclosure orders

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In recent weeks, courts in England and Hong Kong have taken the opportunity to set out the serious consequences that follow from deliberately breaching disclosure orders made in the context of freezing orders....more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Stepping In: Arbitration Can Benefit All Parties

Arbitration can be a simpler, more effective alternative to the Labour Tribunal yet surprisingly few people are familiar with the process. It’s not for every employee, or for every dispute, but arbitration makes sense up...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Arbitration 101: Why and How to Keep Your Company Out of Court

“Arbitration makes a lot of sense”, Charles Allen states. A general commercial disputes lawyer and currently a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Hong Kong, he practices across a wide range of different things. ...more

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