Employment agency fined for overcharging domestic helper

A-Chun Professional Limited was fined $8,000 today at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts for overcharging a job seeking domestic helper. The employment agency was also ordered to pay a compensation of $520 to the job seeker. The prosecution was launched by the Labour Department.

The Employment Agencies Administration of the Labour Department received a complaint of overcharging from a foreign domestic helper against the employment agency concerned in September last year. The investigation revealed that the said agency collected excessive placement fees from the complainant.

 According to Part XII of the Employment Ordinance, the operator of an employment agency is not allowed to charge any reward, payment or other advantage in respect of expenses from a job seeker directly or indirectly in connection with having obtained, obtaining or seeking to obtain employment for him, except a commission of not more than 10% of his first month's salary after a successful placement. The maximum penalty for overcharging a job seeker is $50,000.

Under the Employment Ordinance, the Commissioner for Labour may refuse to issue or renew, or may revoke, a licence if the employment agency operator has contravened any provision of Part XII of the Ordinance or the Employment Agency Regulations, or if the operator has been convicted of an offence involving membership of a triad society, fraud, dishonesty or extortion, or if for any other reason he is not considered a fit and proper person to operate an employment agency.