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From today, it is again illegal to force an employee to get vaccinated against Covid-19 |
Hong Kong has repealed a provision under the
Employment Ordinance that allows employers to sack workers - foreign domestic helpers included - who do not want to
get vaccinated against Covid-19.
A statement released by the government said, "Starting from
today, there is no longer any provision under the Employment Ordinance relating
to vaccination request. Any such request made under the Employment Ordinance
prior to this date ceases to have effect.”
The
government earlier announced that following the removal of the vaccine pass
requirement, the vaccination provisions introduced in the EO in June 2022 will
be repealed from today, June 16, 2023.
Previously,
employees who failed to comply with a legitimate vaccination request by an
employer was a “valid reason” for dismissal or variation of a contract.
Employers
are now advised that the vaccination requests they made earlier will cease to
have effect from today.
This
means, workers can no longer be dismissed for failing to comply with such a
request, even if their employer had managed to obtain permission to enforce such
an action previously.