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Corona Virus - No Paid Leave / Redundancy Questions

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  1. #51
    Quote Originally Posted by Tyresmoke:
    So sorry to hear this... here's an article written by lawyers on Employers Obligations regarding coronavirus... hope it helps
    https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/perspectives-events/publications/2020/01/novel-coronavirus-and-employer-obligations

    May be worth giving them a quick call - some lawyers give 15 minutes free advice in the hope of getting work on the back of it.
    Great article! Thanks for linking it

    The article states this "The contract of employment will continue during a Novel Coronavirus outbreak unless the employment has ceased. An employer cannot refuse to pay wages simply because the employee is unable to attend the workplace or perform any work because of an outbreak."

    My contract states that in the event of closure for 3 or more days the employee will be switched to unpaid leave. So I guess what my employer is doing is entirely legal

  2. #52

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    7,517

    @HK-Teacher

    I think it depends to a large extent whether you want to stay in Hong Kong, or return in the future. If you have no plans to stay or return, you can leave, lose your deposit, and that should be it. It's very unlikely that a landlord would try to chase you overseas for money due to complete a rental contract.

    The 18K for leaving early - is that wages owed?

    The current situation (i.e. private language centres closed) is unlikely to improve until April at the earliest.




  3. #53
    Quote Originally Posted by drumbrake:
    @HK-Teacher

    I think it depends to a large extent whether you want to stay in Hong Kong, or return in the future. If you have no plans to stay or return, you can leave, lose your deposit, and that should be it. It's very unlikely that a landlord would try to chase you overseas for money due to complete a rental contract.

    The 18K for leaving early - is that wages owed?

    The current situation (i.e. private language centres closed) is unlikely to improve until April at the earliest.



    The 18k is a penalty being imposed by my landlord - it's for administration and cleaning costs apparently
    If they were just keeping my deposit then I'd just deal with it and flee (I'd obviously be gutted since it's all my savings) but all these additional penalties and threats are complicating matters.

  4. #54

    Join Date
    May 2015
    Posts
    622
    Quote Originally Posted by HK-Teacher:
    Hey! I'm back
    My situation remains the same - perhaps even worse.
    My unpaid leave has been extended further. I've asked my landlord again if I can leave but now they are telling me the following will happen if I do:
    - they will keep my deposit (pretty much my entire savings)
    - they will penalise me 18000 hkd for leaving early
    - they intend to bill me for the remaining months on my contract
    I have no idea how they will implement the last 2 but it terrifies me nevertheless.

    I am pretty much completely trapped in Hong Kong and there's no end in sight.

    I can just about cover the rent for March but if I'm not back at work by mid March then I certainly won't be able to afford the rent for April. But, at the same time, I won't be able to afford the penalties if I leave either. I just don't see a way out of this situation at all. It's having a hugely negative impact on my mental health
    Thank you for your update. You need to know your rights as an employee and a renter. Are you on a full time contract? How long have you been with your company? They can't just not pay you. If they ask you for unpaid leave you have the option to say no. They can terminate your contract, but still need to pay you out for the notice period. This seems like a better choice than getting nothing and just leaving.

    For rent, unfortunately you might lose your deposit. You can terminate the rental contract at any time and just leave, but you will forfeit your deposit. I believe technically the landlord can take you to small claims court, but even then it wouldn't be worth their time and you still don't need to actually pay anything. If you really want to go the sleazy way, you can just stop paying rent and still live there but I don't suggest that.

  5. #55
    Original Post Deleted
    I think what makes it worse is that my 'landlord' is actually a coliving company rather than a traditional landlord. I'd be more understanding of the money grabbing tactics if it was a landlord who relied on their tenant's income for their own family/life but this is a well established business with loads of residents so I'm sure they're able to compromise but they just won't.

  6. #56

    Join Date
    May 2015
    Posts
    622

    Do you live in a normal flat or one of those sub divided flats with like 4-6 units?


  7. #57
    Quote Originally Posted by Cminds:
    Thank you for your update. You need to know your rights as an employee and a renter. Are you on a full time contract? How long have you been with your company? They can't just not pay you. If they ask you for unpaid leave you have the option to say no. They can terminate your contract, but still need to pay you out for the notice period. This seems like a better choice than getting nothing and just leaving.

    For rent, unfortunately you might lose your deposit. You can terminate the rental contract at any time and just leave, but you will forfeit your deposit. I believe technically the landlord can take you to small claims court, but even then it wouldn't be worth their time and you still don't need to actually pay anything. If you really want to go the sleazy way, you can just stop paying rent and still live there but I don't suggest that.
    My employment contract is full time. I joined them in November 2019 so I'd been working for them for around 3 months when the unpaid leave was enforced. My notice period is 2 months but there's no sign of them terminating my contract (so many of my colleagues have left so I'm sure they're desperate to hold on to their remaining teachers). I think legally they can just simply refuse to pay me like they have been doing as it states in the contract that they can. Ultimately it's my fault for signing the contract - I remember reading that clause about unpaid leave but I never imagined that something like this would happen. A lesson for the future at least!

    Regarding rent, I've come to terms with the fact that there's no way I'll get my deposit back if I leave before my contract ends. I just worry about the implications of getting up and going without paying the penalty or remaining 8 months rent. I have until the end of this month until my next rental payment is due so I've got about 10 days to make my mind up. I'm 'due' to return to work on March 2nd but I highly doubt that will actually happen.

  8. #58

    Join Date
    May 2015
    Posts
    622

    Sort out your employment first. Did you call the Labour Department? You need to ask them for advice and act on it quickly. They are actually quite helpful and will let you know your options.

    Cornmeal likes this.

  9. #59
    Quote Originally Posted by Cminds:
    Do you live in a normal flat or one of those sub divided flats with like 4-6 units?
    It's not a flat. It's a 'coliving' space so all residents have their own bedroom and bathroom and then there's 3 floors of common areas (kitchen, gym, living room, etc.). Pretty much like high class student halls! It is lovely and I've loved living here, just a shame the leasing/finance team are being so difficult!

  10. #60

    Will call the labour department tomorrow!

    Thanks everyone for all your help/reassurance

    Cminds likes this.

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