Legal amendment to expand compensation for Hong Kong commuters hurt or killed in inclement weather

The current compensation scheme only covers deaths and injuries incurred under a No 8 typhoon signal or higher, or under a red or black rainstorm warning

The amendment will expand that coverage to include periods of ‘extreme conditions’, which can be announced by the chief secretary

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A new legal amendment would expand a compensation scheme for commuters injured or killed during inclement weather. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 8:57pm, 17 Feb 2021Updated: 11:53pm, 17 Feb 2021

More Hong Kong workers who are injured or killed while commuting to or from work in inclement weather would be compensated by their employers under a new legal amendment first drafted in the wake of Typhoon Mangkhut more than two years ago.

At present, commuters are entitled to compensation for mishaps only when either a No 8 typhoon signal or higher, or a red or black rainstorm warning, is in force. But under the Employees’ Compensation (Amendment) Bill 2021, to be introduced in the Legislative Council next Wednesday, the threshold for compensation would be expanded to include periods of “extreme conditions” – a status that can be declared by the chief secretary and extended, even after a No 8 signal has been lowered.

The amendments were first prompted by Typhoon Mangkhut, which left a trail of destruction in 2018. Photo: Apple Daily

“Having considered that employees commuting to or from work during ‘extreme conditions’ can be subject to more dangerous circumstances, similar to those under T8 or above, or the red or black rainstorm warning, we consider it necessary and justified to accord adequate employees’ compensation to them,” the Labour and Welfare Bureau said in a paper on the amendment submitted on Wednesday.