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Legislation on Employment of Persons with Disabilities

The Minimum Wage Ordinance has come into effect since 1 May 2011. Statutory Minimum Wage applies to employees with disabilities and able-bodied employees alike. Therefore, employees with disabilities are also entitled to wages at not lower than the Statutory Minimum Wage rate. Taking account of the possible employment difficulties encountered by some employees with disabilities, a special arrangement is provided under the Minimum Wage Ordinance so that employees with disabilities whose productivity may be impaired by their disabilities are entitled to choose to have their productivity assessed to determine whether they should be remunerated at not lower than the Statutory Minimum Wage rate or at a rate commensurate with their productivity. According to the Minimum Wage Ordinance, the right to invoke productivity assessment is solely vested in the employees with disabilities, not their employers. For employees with disabilities who do not opt to undergo productivity assessment, their employers must pay them at not lower than the Statutory Minimum Wage rate.

Productivity Assessment for Employees with Disabilities under the Statutory Minimum Wage Regime

Flow chart of the productivity assessment for employees with disabilities

The employee with disabilities must hold a valid "Registration Card for People with Disabilities" issued by the Central Registry for Rehabilitation of the Labour and Welfare Bureau when invoking the assessment.
The employee with disabilities may, before commencing employment, agree with the employer to undergo a trial period of employment of not more than 4 weeks to adapt and settle into the work before undergoing assessment. The wage level during the trial period of employment as agreed between the employee with disabilities and the employer should not be lower than 50% of the Statutory Minimum Wage rate.
The employee with disabilities contacts the approved assessor to be selected from the register of approved assessors of the Labour Department to conduct the assessment.
The approved assessor conducts the assessment in the actual workplace of the employee with disabilities, collects detailed information on the work and selects appropriate factors to be considered and suitable methods of assessment.
The approved assessor explains the assessment result and issues the "Certificate of Assessment on the Degree of Productivity" to the employee with disabilities and the employer. The fee of the approved assessor is borne by the Labour Department.

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