The Institute of Certified Public Accountants pointed out that the documents for applying for the debt-breaking fund are not complete and easy to delay. It is better to contact the personnel or finance department first.

The new crown pneumonia epidemic has lasted for more than two years, and all industries have been hit, especially the catering industry.

Recently, the restaurant of Asia Pacific Catering (Holdings) Co., Ltd. suddenly closed its business and owed more than 100 employees salaries, notices and other payments, involving more than 5 million yuan.

According to the current labor protection, if the employer is unable to repay the debt, the employee can apply for ex-gratia payment from the Bankruptcy and Arrears Protection Fund (the Insolvency Fund) for unpaid wages and payment in lieu of notice.

The executive committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Restructuring and Bankruptcy Management pointed out that after employees apply for the repayment fund, the authorities will conduct a review. If the information is incomplete or cannot be checked, the entire application will be delayed.

The vice chairman of the executive committee, Zhou Weicheng, suggested that if employees need to apply for the loan repayment fund, they should contact their colleagues in the company's finance department and human resources department first. It's all about these two people first."

It is necessary to increase the special payment of the broken arrears fund that has not been adjusted for more than 20 years

The Legislative Council passed a resolution last month to raise the upper limit of various ex-gratia payments owed to the Fund, and employees should benefit. However, the issue of how long it takes to apply has not been resolved. Apart from criticism from members and the labor sector, the Audit Commission has published a report pointing out that The timing of ex-gratia payments owed to the Fund is significantly behind.

Yang Wen'an, chairman of the executive committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Restructuring and Insolvency Management Specialist Society, said that he welcomed the increase.

Quoting the annual report of the Debt Fund Committee, he stated that only 44% of the applicants in 2018/19 received ex-gratia payments that could fully cover their original payments, reflecting that more than half of the applicants’ claims exceeded the ex-gratia payment limit. An increase is necessary.

The application needs to be checked for incomplete documents or delays in the application

Raising the upper limit of the ex-gratia payment should benefit employees, but the issue of the time it takes to apply for the repayment fund is still criticized by lawmakers and the labor sector.

Yang Wen'an mentioned that the authorities have mentioned that on the premise of receiving all the required documents, the ex-gratia payment applied for by employees can be released within two to seven weeks. "The problem arises when the required amount is collected." He continued that if Insufficient employee documents can lead to "missing omissions and delays" when the authorities check their claims.

Filing a winding-up petition in court may become another threshold

Zhou Weicheng, the vice chairman of the executive committee, also added that if the documents are complete, he has seen some cases where a special payment has been issued within two to six weeks. It will take time to reorganize the relevant information.

Zhou Weicheng said that at present, an application for a debt-breaking fund needs to submit a winding-up petition to the filing court. In many cases, if no other creditors file a petition, it is up to the employee to file a petition on his own. If the employee is unable to hire a lawyer, he often needs to apply for legal aid. The related application also takes about four to six weeks.

He suggested that if employees need to apply for the debt repayment fund, they should contact colleagues in the company's finance department and personnel department first, because they will find the company's pay slips, employment records, employment contracts, annual leave records and other documents, "they will have enough information to provide They (other employees) go to apply, and I go to the scene before the two of them.”

+1

Asia Pacific Catering employees claim for breaking funds or have to wait for provisional liquidators to deal with them

Regarding the sudden closure of the restaurant under Asia Pacific Catering (Holdings) Co., Ltd. recently, over 100 employees were in arrears with salaries, monies and other payments, Yang Wen'an pointed out that the company currently has no liquidators, and even if employees submit applications to the Debt Fund, it may not be the case. There are company documents for the authorities to check, and it is expected that it may have to wait until there is a provisional liquidation before the documents can be obtained.

Urge the authorities to enact a corporate rescue ordinance "at least there is a chance to save the company"

Yang Wen'an continued to mention that the existing corporate rescue regulations in many places have not been enacted in Hong Kong for more than 20 years. Wages arrears, the association has also suggested that the government consider paying employees arrears through the arrears fund.

He believes that the lack of a corporate rescue ordinance is one of the reasons affecting the commercial development of Hong Kong, and hopes that the government will reconsider enacting relevant regulations in the future.

+2

From June, the upper limit of the special payment for the broken arrears fund will be raised

The Bankruptcy Backed Wages Protection Fund currently provides labor welfare protection, and the upper limit of various ex-gratia payments has been maintained for more than 20 years. Until last month, the Legislative Council passed a relevant resolution to increase the upper limit of various ex-gratia payments, including: the ex-gratia payment for back wages from $36,000 Increased to $80,000; payment in lieu of notice was also increased from $22,500 to $45,000; severance payment was increased from the first $50,000 and half of the balance to the first $100,000 and half of the balance; annual leave and statutory holidays were not taken Salary was raised from $10,500 to $26,000.

The relevant amendments have also been gazetted on the 17th of last month.

The special funds of the broken arrears fund have been raised.

(Legislative Council document)

Former Labour Commissioner Sun Yukhan once said that the process would be accelerated and simplified

When the new director of the Bureau of Labor and Welfare, Sun Yuhan, was still the Commissioner of Labour last year, he acknowledged the problems pointed out in the audit report on a radio program, and said that he would find ways to speed up and simplify the processing process, including considering direct external legal services to deal with court cases. Submit a winding-up petition; in addition, he also mentioned that cases involving only wage arrears may be considered based on the information provided by the applicant, and the application should be completed within 2 to 3 months.

Sun Yuhan once acknowledged the problems pointed out in the audit report on the radio program, and said that he would find ways to speed up and simplify the processing process.

(Screenshot of the live broadcast of the Legislative Council)

The amount of salary claims for the broken arrears fund has doubled to 80,000 members: approval is urgently needed to simplify the limit of the broken arrears fund claims It has been more than a year since the Labour Department identified a problem with an external lawyer, and the process was shortened. Over 1 year of application for arrears fund ex-gratia payment has been raised at the end of 25 years, MPs describe it as "late", the default payment fund approved last year of 113 million yuan, an increase of 44% year-on-year, and the worst case in the retail industry tripled