The Chief Executive Mr. John Lee released the Policy Address 2023 on 25 October 2023, where various Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) proposed in the Policy Address 2022 were reviewed. We gladly contributed to fulfilling a KPI in the Policy Address.

One of the KPIs proposed by the Chief Executive in the Policy Address 2023 requires to safeguard labour rights by releasing ex-gratia payment from the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund (PWIF) within three months for simple and straight-forward applications and not more than six months for 90% of non-disputed and substantiated applications upon receipt of applications by the PWIF Application Office, with effect from the fourth quarter of 2022 (the “KPI”).

Under the statutory regime, ex-gratia payments are released to the affected employees by PWIF upon the filing of a winding-up or bankruptcy petition in the Court by an affected employee against the employer. We are one of the two panel firms of solicitors for PWIF assisting affected employees in filing petitions against employers in arrears of wages in a timely manner, for the purpose of expediting the disbursement of ex-gratia payments and safeguarding labour rights. With efficient legal support, the PWIF Office was acknowledged in the Policy Address 2023 to have approved relevant applications and released ex-gratia payment within the specified time limits. The KPI is recognized to be met.

We shall continue to provide structured and well-monitored legal service with the benefit of our legal team’s professional experience to match the SAR Government’s policy directions and to meet the expectations of clients and the public, in a result-oriented culture.