The new working model of “online work” is becoming increasingly common, with many employees being asked to work using communication tools outside of working hours, which is essentially “invisible overtime” without compensation. Legislative Council member of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, Wong Guo, suggested during a recent interview on a Hong Kong TV program that Hong Kong lags behind in labor protection and the government could consider practices from mainland China and other countries for reference.
Wong mentioned that the current trend of “online work” is on the rise, and if employees need to calculate whether they are working overtime at home, they can refer to two indicators of “invisible overtime,” including “clearly occupying rest time” and “providing substantial labor.”
He cited a case from the Supreme People’s Court in mainland China as an example. In the case, an employee in the information technology industry was required to respond to customer inquiries outside of working hours. The court, after reviewing records of responses to customers, deemed that the work required of the employee outside of working hours constituted “clearly occupying rest time” and “providing substantial labor,” ultimately ruling that the company needed to compensate for the overtime. He expressed that the indicators set in this case are worth considering for the Hong Kong government.
He also mentioned that some European countries are studying offline rights arrangements for employees, allowing them to refuse calls or respond to messages after work hours. However, Wong acknowledged that this may not be suitable for the current situation in Hong Kong, and simply making phone calls should not be considered “invisible overtime.” The key is to have concrete records proving that employees are using their extra time after work for substantial work.
Regarding the government’s suggestion for employers and employees to negotiate, Wong argued that this is not an ideal solution and criticized the lagging labor protection in Hong Kong. He urged the Hong Kong government to promptly study the “online work” model, pilot it with civil servants, and improve labor laws. He added that a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions revealed that 60% of surveyed employees need to work outside of regular work hours, with 40% receiving no compensation.
Yip Wai Kwong, Associate Director of the Center for Human Resources Strategy and Development at the School of Business of Hong Kong Baptist University, pointed out that for professionals providing specialized services, it is difficult to clearly separate office hours, and offline rights may lead to conflicts between employers and employees. He suggested that employers could use incentivizing methods to reward employees who complete their work early.