The Hong Kong government has tightened the rules for the non-local labour scheme, targeting the food and beverage (F&B) sector, which has the highest number of imported workers in the city. Restaurant workers in Hong Kong. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Starting Tuesday, employers in the catering industry must observe a stricter staffing ratio of three local employees for every imported worker, the government said on Monday. Affected roles include cooks, junior cooks, waiters, receptionists, drink makers, and bar supervisors.
F&B businesses seeking to import labour must also undergo a six-week local recruitment period – up from the current four-week requirement. During the six weeks, employers are required to attend a job fair assigned by the Labour Department once every two weeks.
Currently, employers only need to maintain a 2:1 ratio of full-time local employees to imported workers.
Monday’s revamp follows a government review of the “Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme,” which was rolled out in September 2023 to address a manpower crunch driven by an ageing population and economic shifts.
The revamped scheme will not affect other types of jobs permitted to import workers, which will retain the current 2:1 ratio and the four-week local recruitment window.
The update also seeks to incentivise the employment of local workers with disabilities. To encourage this, employers will be granted a 1:1 manning ratio between local disabled employees and imported workers. Hong Kong’s Labour Department. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. To protect the local workforce, employers are still required to pay imported labourers a wage no less than the median monthly salary for their respective positions.
As of February, the latest period for which data is available, authorities had approved a total of more than 102,000 non-local workers under the scheme. The F&B sector comprised the biggest share, with nearly 42,000 workers.
The Labour Department (LD) had received close to 1,000 complaints regarding the scheme as of February, with many levelled against F&B employers and some leading to official sanctions.
For example, in August last year, a Chinese restaurant was barred from importing workers for two years after authorities found that the company fired local employees to hire non-local workers. “The LD will strengthen administrative sanctions imposed on employers with serious breaches,” the government said on Monday.
Businesses with multiple breaches will be barred from the labour scheme for up to five years, the government said.
“To strengthen deterrence, the LD will also publish the identity of all employers who have been subject to administrative sanctions,” it added.