Ordinary Gweilo

Back in January, I was puzzled when the SCMP reported a government minister as saying that, as part of new anti-discrimination legislation, Permanent Residents would be disqualified from receiving “expat packages” .  Then the government tried to clarify this (and yet I was still confused):

“Those already on expat packages can continue on the existing terms of employment provided they remain in the same group of companies,” [Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Stephen Fisher] said.  “But after the law is in place, anyone recruited on overseas terms must have expertise that is not readily available in Hong Kong and that person must not be a Hong Kong permanent resident. If that person wants to remain on the overseas terms, he or she cannot become a Hong Kong permanent resident.”

The legislation has now been published [PDF] and in one respect it actually goes slightly further, by saying that these exceptions only apply to people who are brought from overseas:    

13. Exception for employment of person with special skills, knowledge or experience

(1) Nothing in section 10 renders unlawful any act done by an employer for the benefit of any person in or in connection with employing the
person at an establishment in Hong Kong, where –

(a) the employment requires special skills, knowledge or experience not readily available in Hong Kong;

(b) the person –

(i) possesses those skills, knowledge or experience; and

(ii) is recruited or transferred from a place outside Hong Kong; and

(c) the act is reasonably done for a person so recruited or transferred, having regard to –

(i) the prevailing terms of employment offered to persons with those skills, knowledge or experience in places outside Hong Kong; and

(ii) any other relevant circumstances (other than the race of the person).

However, it then goes on to say that these exceptions continue to apply as long as the individual is employed within the same group of companies, and no mention is made of Permanent Residence.  Which is how it should be, and you have to wonder what Stephen Fisher was thinking about when he made that speech back in January.

Of course, if a Hong Kong company offered favourable terms to a foreigner already living in Hong Kong then they would not be able to get exemption and could be prosecuted.  Which is all very well, but (1) the government has better things to do than pursue companies for paying people too much, and (2) employers can always argue that the person has special skills or responsibilities.  It ain’t gonna happen