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Potential Violation of Employment Ordinance

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by shafiq:
    If your contract didnt have any implied notice period or break clause, you can derive it from the EO. In your case, the contract is a fixed term contract and break clause is mentioned in the contract. Notice period and penalty for breaking fixed term contract are two speperate issues. EO doesnt have any mention about the penalty for not fulfulling a contract.
    Ah, I see what you mean. So I either pay the outstanding months salary or try and get fired. Would my employer have any right to sue me/ ask me to pay them anything if I get fired by them since THEY are terminating the contract?

    I would like to leave respectfully ideally without getting fired (wouldn’t look good on my CV) so I’m hoping I could negotiate the amount that I’d have to pay (if it’s open to negotiations) by discussing my case with the CEO. Thanks for all the help!

  2. #12

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    Surely, Chapter 2 sums it up:

    Employers and employees are free to negotiate and agree on the terms and conditions of employment provided that they do not violate the provisions of the Employment Ordinance. Any term of an employment contract which purports to extinguish or reduce any right, benefit or protection conferred upon the employee by this Ordinance shall be void.
    I would interpret that any employment contract cannot override the basic provisions outlined in the Employment Ordinance... just like no building's DMC can override the Building Management Ordinance.

    ?
    shri likes this.

  3. #13

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    @Alzthehero - Any updates?

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  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    @Alzthehero - Any updates?

    So..I had a partner from a law firm help me out but even he says the contract is poorly drafted..and the cost of pursuing a claim might be disproportionate to the actual claim...

    I also contacted the relevant government department and they state that there’s no provision for compensating the employer the remaining term of employment(besides the payment in lieu of notice)

    At this point, I think what my company is doing is legal (from the EO laws I’ve gathered at least), but extremely harsh morally speaking (I’ve tried negotiating with the HR, mentioned how I’ve contributed to the company, even did 120 hours of overtime last month and massively helped them in general beyond my actual responsibitlies) but they’re stern on their godforsaken contract and just won’t budge..they keep saying that if I get to leave without paying then my coworkers would be able to do the same as well, to which I argued that I’ll be leaving with less than 3 months of employment remaining (off peak season too, leaving them at least 5 months to find a replacement) before my contract naturally terminates and that I’d even sign a non-disclosure preventing me from sharing the terms of my termination with my coworkers..but no luck they’re stubborn as hell

    I even asked them if I could be terminated but they said that if they fire me then they’ll have to pay me the remaining term of employment..(which is ridiculous from the standpoint of an employer, why would you put yourself in such a position anyway)

    The negotiation was fruitless and it’s just left me really frustrated..I mean, what’s keeping me from just not showing up to work? I could give them no notice and not show up to work for 3 days straight and they’ll have to terminate me (according to the contract) but I’d hate to have such a bad relationship with the company.

    if I do have to pay in the end, I’ll make sure no one EVER makes the mistake of signing a contact with these guys (they specifically target fresh grads with no experience and make them sign 2 year fixed contracts). They’re literally ruining lives by scaring their employees into paying literally 2 years of salary if someone quits after just the first month. Sigh.
    TheBrit and shri like this.

  5. #15

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    If people/slash company treat you right, it's good to do the same. If they try to shaft you then it's open season. In my opinion, respect is earned not granted automatically. It seems like you have made a genuine effort to resolve the problem, time to move on.

    Alzthehero likes this.

  6. #16

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    An ex colleague of mine just didnt bother turning up for work and left the company without even resigning, the company sent letters asking the ex colleague to pay 1 months salary as penalty but he just ignored the letters and the company off course didnt bother chasing it lol.

    If the new opportunity is good and in a different industry, then just walk out, dont let them know where you are going LOL

    Alzthehero likes this.

  7. #17

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    Original Post Deleted
    Honestly 80% of me really just wants to walk away; I’m just concerned about how it would look like if one of my future employers calls the company and asks them for the reason of my termination.

    This is seems to be the only logical path besides paying though...should I check with my new job to see if they’d be cool if I left my current job like this?
    MABinPengChau likes this.

  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Golem:
    If people/slash company treat you right, it's good to do the same. If they try to shaft you then it's open season. In my opinion, respect is earned not granted automatically. It seems like you have made a genuine effort to resolve the problem, time to move on.
    I’ve tried every avenue to see if they could be willing to negotiate but nope they’re just pulling their corporate card and dodging everything.

  9. #19

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    curious, what industry are you in ?

    leaving without a proper closure is tricky... if there is too big a gap (2years), in future, when future employer ask for a letter of reference or do a cross reference check of you before offering you a job, you might be hit with some marks and cause you problem in getting the new role.. especially if those jobs are in banks and large listed companies

    Alzthehero likes this.

  10. #20

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    Apr 2012
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    Quote Originally Posted by freeier:
    curious, what industry are you in ?

    leaving without a proper closure is tricky... if there is too big a gap (2years), in future, when future employer ask for a letter of reference or do a cross reference check of you before offering you a job, you might be hit with some marks and cause you problem in getting the new role.. especially if those jobs are in banks and large listed companies
    I won’t have too big of a gap since my next job starts in mid-October this year and since the new position will be in a completely different field (I work in financial printing now and will transition into Regtech/fintech)

    Honestly I have a pretty good working relationship with the management and getting them to be a reference wouldn’t be a problem in the future.