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SCMP Editorial
Editorial
SCMP Editorial

Court ruling gives employers and domestic helpers much to reflect on

If a helper contracts an illness that renders her unable to perform her duties, what options are available that are fair to both the helper and her employer?

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Baby Jane Allas (centre) after a hearing at the Labour Tribunal in Hong Kong on April 15, 2019. A Hong Kong court has awarded more than HK$251,000 to the family of Allas, who was dismissed by her employer in 2019 after being diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer and who later died. Photo: AFP
SCMP Editorial
Editorials represent the views of the South China Morning Post on the issues of the day.
A case in which a Hong Kong court ordered a former employer to pay more than HK$251,000 (US$32,000) to the family of a deceased Filipino domestic helper warrants reflection from the point of view of both employers and helpers. In a claim brought by the Equal Opportunities Commission in 2020, the District Court heard that the helper Baby Jane Allas was dismissed by employer Jamil Bushra in 2019 while she was on medical leave, soon after she was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer. She died in 2021 in the Philippines after treatment in Hong Kong.

Deputy District Judge Ebony Ling Yee-nam found that Bushra had violated the Disability Discrimination Ordinance by unlawfully dismissing an employee on the grounds of disability. The case raises wider questions.

The health and welfare of helpers is an abiding concern of relevant laws. Entitlement to cumulative paid sick leave and free medical care in the public health system are evidence of that.

However, what remedy that is fair to both sides is available to employers if a helper contracts an incapacitating illness that renders her unable to perform her duties? That seems to be a valid question.

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