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Postal Privacy in Hong Kong, at work?

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  1. #1

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    Exclamation Postal Privacy in Hong Kong, at work?

    Scanned through the whole subject index to ordinances in HK but couldn't find anything related to my question. Hoping that you guys can help.

    Is there such thing as postal privacy laws in Hong Kong?
    If so, one specific example:
    If I receive letters in the office, which are addressed to me, but my manager insists on opening them since they're coming to the office, is she acting lawful?


  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by altralazer:
    If I receive letters in the office, which are addressed to me, but my manager insists on opening them since they're coming to the office, is she acting lawful?
    my thought (as a manager) would be... why are you (my employee) getting mail sent to my office that I am not able to see?

    if its personal, then you shouldnt be getting it sent to office.
    if its work related, then why cant they open it?

    i understand you are looking for some "privacy" legal jargon, but if my employee was getting mail sent to work that I was not able to look at as the manager, I would be worried about what kind of business you are conducting in my office and question why you are still there...

    just my thoughts

  3. #3

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    actually depends, if you are not home and there is some urgent mail you are expecting then giving office address should not be an issue.
    What I do in this case is, I tell the reception in advance that I am expecting a letter and its personal so she must not open it.


  4. #4

    I have my corporate card statements sent to my office. I don't expect anyone to open them nor has anyone opened my statements.

    I don't know if there are any privacy laws in Hong Kong about receiving personal mails. You probably need to should check with HR or go through your employee handbook.

    On the other hand, I think your boss should not be opening up your mails. Perhaps, there is no legal ground against it, but opening someone else's mail is something I would consider as lack of professional courtesy or respect. If she/he has a problem with it, he should address it to you instead of opening your mails without your knowledge.


  5. #5

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    I've worked in companies who if the received mail was clearly personal then it was passed to me unopened. However, if mail arrived from a client and I was out of the office then it would be opened to see what action, if any, had to be taken e.g. they might call me to inform me it had arrived and what the content was.


  6. #6

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    agreed...if special case then you make notice to receptionist and its done with.
    but if its a recurring thing...why? and whats the problem?


  7. #7

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    Thanks for all these answers.
    I hasn't been an issue for the past couple of years (same company).
    The reason for having mail sent to my office address was the faster delivery time and the lack of a real mailbox at some of my previous addresses in HK (Lamma, Jordan where mail was put in front of door only).

    Nobody ever cared. However now that I've resigned (I'm in my notice period), suddenly the HR manager "accidentally opened" my mail today. Checking with my contacts in the company I've found out that it's been advised my mail is to be redirected to her first.
    Pisses me off as I'm also getting bank statements, which I didn't want to have laying around in front of my steel door.


  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by altralazer:
    Thanks for all these answers.
    I hasn't been an issue for the past couple of years (same company).
    The reason for having mail sent to my office address was the faster delivery time and the lack of a real mailbox at some of my previous addresses in HK (Lamma, Jordan where mail was put in front of door only).

    Nobody ever cared. However now that I've resigned (I'm in my notice period), suddenly the HR manager "accidentally opened" my mail today. Checking with my contacts in the company I've found out that it's been advised my mail is to be redirected to her first.
    Pisses me off as I'm also getting bank statements, which I didn't want to have laying around in front of my steel door.
    There lies your answer, they don't care about you anymore as you don't work for them anymore. They are also trying to protect their own interests to make sure that you aren't stealing clients, company info or doing anything malicious.

    You are considered a threat right now, some companies when you resign will have you not come to work for the notice period. That way you cannot get access to database and other information, but usually all the work is done before you resign.

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by 2centsworth:
    ...... opening someone else's mail is something I would consider as lack of professional courtesy or respect.
    Not as much as having your mail sent to somebody else's address and then having the temerity to whine because they opened it.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by altralazer:
    Pisses me off as I'm also getting bank statements, which I didn't want to have laying around in front of my steel door.
    Buy a mail box and fix it to your steel door. Have your correspondence sent to your own address. Problem solved.

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