Employers and employees should make reasonable work arrangements after tropical cyclones or rainstorms
The Labour Department (LD) today (July 10) reminded employers to make practical and reasonable work arrangements for employees after the cancellation of tropical cyclone warnings or rainstorm warnings, with due consideration to the road and traffic conditions and other factors, and make flexible arrangements for staff to resume work or work remotely (if applicable). This will help maintain good labour-management relations, and ensure the safety of employees as well as the smooth operation of organisations.
"For staff who have genuine difficulties in resuming work on time upon cancellation of a tropical cyclone or rainstorm warning, employers should be sympathetic and handle each case flexibly. For example, employers may allow employees to resume work in stages, permit employees who have difficulties in returning to workplaces to work remotely (if applicable) or allow more time for them to report for duty and resume work," an LD spokesman said.
The spokesman reminded employers to observe the statutory liabilities and requirements under the Employment Ordinance, Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance, Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance, Employees' Compensation Ordinance and Minimum Wage Ordinance.
"As natural calamities cannot be avoided, for employees who are not able to report for duty or resume duty on time due to adverse weather or extreme conditions, employers should neither deduct their wages, good attendance bonus or allowances, nor reduce employees' entitlement to annual leave, statutory holidays or rest days under the Employment Ordinance, or ask for additional hours of work from employees to compensate for the loss of working hours when they are unable to report for duty," the spokesman said.
Employers should note that they have an obligation to provide and maintain a safe working environment for their employees under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance. Moreover, under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance, employers are liable to pay compensation for injuries or deaths incurred when employees are travelling by a direct route from their residence to their workplace, or from their workplace back to their residence after work, four hours before or after working hours on a day when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or higher, a Red or Black Rainstorm Warning Signal or extreme conditions are in force.
The LD has published the "Code of Practice in Times of Adverse Weather and 'Extreme Conditions'", which provides the major principles, reference guidelines and information on relevant legislation on making work arrangements for the reference of employers and employees. The booklet can be obtained from branch offices of the Labour Relations Division or downloaded from the department's webpage (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/public/wcp/Rainstorm.pdf).
HKSAR Government strongly condemns BBC for unfounded report on Lai Chee-ying's health condition
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government yesterday (January 1) strongly condemned the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for the deliberate unfounded report on Lai Chee-ying's health condition in an attempt to fabricate facts to mislead the public by intentionally portraying Lai Chee-ying as a victim, with the aim of covering up his numerous wrongdoings and his conviction by the court.
Court's conviction verdict was entirely free from any political considerations
A spokesperson for the HKSAR Government said, "The court's reasons for verdict in Lai Chee-ying's case are 855 pages long, which are fully open for public inspection, and include the court's analysis of the relevant legal principles and evidence, as well as the reasons for convicting Lai Chee-ying and the three defendant companies in full detail. The court clearly pointed out in the reasons for verdict that Lai Chee-ying was not on trial for his political views or beliefs. The court's conviction verdict is well-founded and reasoned, fully demonstrating that the court has made its decision on the case strictly in accordance with the law and evidence, free from any interference, and absolutely free of any political considerations.
"The court clearly pointed out that Lai Chee-ying's only intent, whether pre or post Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL), was to seek the downfall of the Communist Party of China, even though the ultimate cost was the sacrifice of the interests of the people of the People's Republic of China and the HKSAR. Also, the court found that Lai Chee-ying was the mastermind of the conspiracies charged in all three counts, and his actions show his deliberate intent to pursue these conspiracies, which constituted a threat and harm to the national security in the PRC and the HKSAR."
The spokesperson stressed, "Hong Kong is a society underpinned by the rule of law and has always adhered to the principle that laws must be obeyed and lawbreakers be held accountable. Article 5 of the HKNSL and section 2 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance clearly stipulate that the principle of the rule of law shall be adhered to in preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for offences endangering national security. Any suggestion that certain individuals or organisations should be immune from legal consequences for their illegal acts is no different from advocating a special privilege to break the law, and this totally runs contrary to the spirit of the rule of law."
Lai Chee-ying's health has been properly cared for
The spokesperson said, "The claims regarding Lai Chee-ying's health condition as reported by the BBC are false and extremely misleading. The HKSAR Government has pointed out time and again that the Correctional Services Department (CSD) handles the custodial arrangements for Lai Chee-ying in the same way as other persons-in-custody (PICs). The CSD attaches great importance to the safety and health of PICs. Regardless of the identities, ages and nationalities of PICs, the CSD is committed to ensuring that the custodial environment is secure, safe, humane, appropriate and healthy, which includes appropriate and timely medical support.
"The medical services received by Lai Chee-ying in custody are adequate and comprehensive. All correctional institutions have hospitals or sick bays staffed 24 hours a day by Medical Officers seconded from the Department of Health (DH) and correctional staff with professional nursing qualifications. Medical specialists from the Hospital Authority (HA) and the DH will visit correctional institutions on a regular basis to provide PICs with specialist consultation and treatment, including dental treatment. If PICs have dental health issues, the Medical Officer of the institution will refer them to dental specialists. In serious cases, PICs will be transferred immediately to a public hospital for treatment.
"During the public court hearing in August 2025, the senior counsel representing Lai Chee-ying clearly presented to the court that Lai Chee-ying had all along been receiving appropriate treatment and care in prison. The correctional institutions had been arranging daily medical checkups for Lai Chee-ying and that there had been no complaints at all regarding the medical services he was receiving, and the Court also commended the CSD. Moreover, on the day the court handed down its verdict on December 15, 2025, the senior counsel representing Lai Chee-ying stated, when responding to questions from the media, that everyone in the court could see clearly Lai Chee-ying's health condition.
"The CSD provided dental treatment for Lai Chee-ying in 2021 and 2022 based on his needs. Since then, Lai Chee-ying has had no dental health problems nor made any further requests for dental treatment. Separately, in 2025, Lai Chee-ying notified the CSD of problems with his nails, but he has since fully recovered after treatment with ointment prescribed by the Medical Officer of the institution, with no nail loss as alleged in the media reports. In August 2025, before the public hearing, the CSD arranged for Lai Chee-ying to wear a cardiac monitoring device and prescribed heart medication for his claimed heart palpitations, to be used as needed. Since then and up till the present moment, Lai Chee-ying has made no further complaints about his heart palpitations to the CSD. It must be stressed that the allegations made by Lai Chee-ying's daughter and relevant media reports, including those by the BBC, are completely baseless."
The spokesperson pointed out, "Certain individuals with ulterior motives, including Lai Chee-ying's family members and certain media, have ignored these facts and continue to spread lies and engage in despicable acts. Recently, Lai Chee-ying's daughter has repeatedly attempted to maliciously smear the HKSAR Government and the CSD, misleading the public to believing that Lai Chee-ying's detention and medical arrangements are poor. Their malicious intentions are obvious. The HKSAR Government strongly opposes and condemns such acts."
Source: AI-found images
