7 March 2013
A restaurant and its manager were fined $30,000 and $5,000 respectively at Shatin Magistrates' Court yesterday (March 6) for failing to inspect the travel document of a new employee.
On January 9, 2013 during an anti-illegal worker operation, immigration officers found that a dish cleaner in a restaurant was prohibited from taking up employment in Hong Kong, whether paid or unpaid. The restaurant and its manager were charged for entering into a contract of employment without first inspecting the travel document of a new employee.
The spokesman also warned that it was an offence for employers to fail to inspect a job seeker's valid travel document if the latter does not hold a Hong Kong permanent identity card. The maximum penalty is a fine of $150,000 and imprisonment for one year. Persons permitted to remain on visitor or student employment conditions or persons whose travel documents are endorsed with a condition of stay stating "employment is not permitted" are not lawfully employable without prior approval from the Director of Immigration.