From 1 May 2025, in respect of Hong Kong’s MPF scheme, the MPF offsetting mechanism will be abolished, meaning that employers no longer will be able to use the accrued benefits of their mandatory contributions under the...more
5/7/2025
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hong Kong ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Severance Pay
The Hong Kong Government has proposed to change the “continuous contract” requirement under the Employment Ordinance (Cap 57) (“EO”) from the current “4-18” requirement to a more relaxed “4-17” or “4-68” requirement....more
In Sze Fung Engineering Limited v Trevi Construction Company Limited [2025] HKCA 278, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal (“CA”) ruled that the “back to back” wording in that case was not a “pay when paid” clause, but governed only...more
4/29/2025
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Litigation ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Hong Kong ,
Pay When Paid ,
Subcontractors
In Y and Another v GI and Another [2025] HKCFI 1317[1], the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“Court”) allowed the defendant’s application for security for costs against the plaintiffs in respect of the plaintiffs’...more
In CC v AC [2025] HKCFI 855 (Date of Decision: 27 February 2025), the Hong Kong Court of First Instance (“Court”) dismissed an application to set aside an order to enforce an arbitral award.
The main basis of challenge...more
With the continued prevalence of the “gig economy”, a common question that arises is whether “gig workers” are employees or independent contractors of the digital platform. ...more
3/19/2025
/ Employee Definition ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Gig Economy ,
Hong Kong ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
Workers' Compensation Claim
These are exciting times for sports in Hong Kong.
With the Hong Kong team’s success at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and Summer Paralympics, the opening of the Kai Tak Sports Park and the 15th National Games (which Hong...more
On 10 February 2025, the Development Bureau (“DEVB”) issued a suite of model adjudication documents (“Model Documents”), including a set of model adjudication rules (“Model Rules”)....more
In Wang & Lee Contracting Ltd v Young Kwong Pui Trading as In Tech Engineering [2025] HKDC 66 (Date of Decision: 3 January 2025), the District Court ordered the court proceedings to be stayed and that the plaintiff’s claims...more
The second and third reading of the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill concluded at the Legislative Council on 18 December 2024....more
The Hong Kong Government received 37 submissions from the public in July 2024 regarding the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) and held discussions with deputations from different stakeholders at a LegCo...more
10/8/2024
/ Adjudicatory Process ,
Comment Period ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
Exceptions ,
Fees ,
General Contractors ,
Hong Kong ,
Insolvency ,
Pay When Paid ,
Pending Legislation ,
Prompt Payment
In recent years, technology advancement has introduced new methods for contract formation. In particular, the rise of blockchain technology has led to the emergence of “smart contracts”, which are digital contracts which...more
9/27/2024
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Blockchain ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Contract Terms ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Hong Kong ,
Smart Contracts ,
UK ,
UNCITRAL ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
On 16 July 2024, the Hong Kong LegCo Bills Committee which is considering the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) held a meeting to receive representations and submissions on the Bill from deputations sent...more
9/26/2024
/ Construction Contracts ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
General Contractors ,
Hong Kong ,
Insolvency ,
Pay When Paid ,
Prompt Payment ,
Subcontractors ,
Third-Party ,
UK
Our earlier Insight “LegCo in-house lawyers request clarifications regarding the Security of Payment Bill” reported that the Legal Service Division of the LegCo wrote a letter on 19 June 2024 to the HK Government seeking to...more
The Hong Kong Government recently submitted its proposed legislative framework to enhance protection of computer systems of critical infrastructure (“Proposal”) to the Legislative Council (“LegCo”) Panel on Security for...more
On 1 June 2024, the latest update to the HKIAC’s administered rules, the 2024 Administered Arbitration Rules (“2024 Rules”) of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (“HKIAC”) came into effect....more
On 21 June 2024, the Hong Kong LegCo Bills Committee which is considering the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) held a meeting to discuss various policy concerns of the Bill....more
With the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, one of the hot buzzwords is “artificial intelligence” (“AI”). Recently, more and more companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, purchase AI solutions from...more
In W v Contractor [2024] HKCFI 1452, the Hong Kong High Court dismissed an application for leave to appeal against the interim measures granted by an arbitrator to restrain an employer from calling on a bond in relation to a...more
On 19 June 2024, the Legal Service Division of the LegCo wrote a letter to the Development Bureau seeking to clarify certain matters in the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”).
The Legal Service...more
We explored in our earlier Insight Hong Kong Security of Payment Bill gazetted the key provisions of the long-anticipated Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill (“Bill”) which was gazetted on 17 May 2024....more
In Manulife Financial Asia Limited and Kenneth Joseph Rappold & Others [2024] HKCFI 989 (date of decision: 5 April 2024), the Hong Kong High Court refused a company’s application to enforce a 12-month non-compete clause...more
On 22 May 2024, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (“PCPD”) published its “Investigation Findings” regarding the operation of the Worldcoin Project in Hong Kong, pursuant to section 48(2) of the Personal...more
In Hong Kong, an implied duty of mutual trust and confidence (“Duty”) exists between an employer and an employee. This duty requires that an employer shall not “without reasonable and proper cause, conduct itself in a manner...more
12/7/2021
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Bad Faith ,
Breach of Duty ,
Damages ,
Duty of Trust ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hong Kong ,
Labour Tribunal ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Wrongful Termination
Where an arbitration clause provides that parties “may” submit their disputes to arbitration, does this mean that arbitration is mandatory or merely permissive? What is the effect of a proviso in an arbitration clause which...more