Labour Department Sanctions Employers for Violating Import Labor Rules, Halting Applications for Two Years

Three employers sanctioned for violating requirements of local recruitment under Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme

The Labour Department (LD) today (January 21) announced the imposition of an administrative sanction on Grosswell Limited, Pei Ho Ming Ho Roasted Meat Restaurant and its sole proprietor, and Tmomo (Tsuen Wan) Limited. With effect from January 19, 2026, the LD will refuse to process any applications for importing labour under the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) submitted by the above employers for a period of two years. At the same time, the LD has terminated the processing of applications previously submitted by the employers.

Following complaints received earlier and subsequent investigations conducted by the LD, it has been substantiated that the above employers violated the requirements of local recruitment under the ESLS, including:

(1) Grosswell Limited, while applying for the importation of general office clerks and accounting clerks, imposed an additional recruitment requirement on local job seekers without obtaining the LD's consent and refused to employ a job seeker who met the original requirements;

(2) Pei Ho Ming Ho Roasted Meat Restaurant and its sole proprietor, while applying for the importation of kitchen helpers, failed to provide job seekers with all the job vacancies that had passed the preliminary screening of the LD, causing the job seekers to decline its employment offers, which is tantamount to refusing to employ qualified job seekers; and

(3) Tmomo (Tsuen Wan) Limited, while applying for the importation of stock keepers, refused to employ a qualified job seeker.

A spokesman for the LD stressed, "Employers applying for the importation of workers under the ESLS should strictly comply with the requirements of the ESLS, including according priority to employing suitable local workers. The ESLS stipulates that if an employer violates labour or immigration laws, the requirements of the ESLS or the Standard Employment Contract, the LD will impose an administrative sanction on the employer, including withdrawal of approvals for the importation of workers previously granted and refusal to process any subsequent applications submitted by the employer."

The Labour Department (LD), Photo source: reference image

CMAB responds to media enquiries

In response to media enquiries regarding the Director of the Tianjin Liaison Unit of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau has further responded today (January 21) as follows:

Regarding the concerns arising from the social media posts issued by Mr Ricky Cheng Chun-sang, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau has undertaken further investigation. It has been considered that the incident in which Mr Cheng's seat being upgraded on a vessel during his earlier trip to Macao is suspected of breaching the provisions under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance regarding civil servants accepting advantages without permission. The matter has already been referred to law enforcement agencies for follow up.

Mr Cheng is a contract staff of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau. The bureau has decided to terminate his contract with immediate effect.