{"id":35033,"date":"2020-05-20T14:50:21","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T06:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zegal.com\/?p=35033"},"modified":"2020-05-19T15:33:35","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T07:33:35","slug":"gig-economy-are-you-protected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zegal.com\/en-nz\/blog\/post\/gig-economy-are-you-protected\/","title":{"rendered":"Gig Economy – Are You Protected?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Mika on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

There is no doubt that the gig economy is a new reality with more and more people taking up on-demand jobs through online platforms and smartphone applications. For those, unfamiliar with the term, the gig economy refers to companies that engage freelancers for temporary or project-based tasks. When compared to permanent employees, the labour benefits, protections and compensation enjoyed by f<\/span>lexible workers tends to be inferior. <\/span><\/p>\n

In this article, we will look at the laws around this mode of employment in Hong Kong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employee or independent contractor?<\/span><\/h4>\n

The first step is to understand your contract. Are an employee or an independent contractor\/ self-employed person? All employees are covered by the Hong Kong Employment Ordinance which stipulates protections including statutory leave, sickness allowance, minimum statutory wage, and compensation arising from work injuries, etc. Employees under continuous contracts are entitled to an even broader range of benefits. However, contractors and self-employed persons are not covered by the Employment Ordinance,<\/strong> hence their statutory protections are very minimal. The difference makes it all the more important to know exactly your employment status.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gig workers may think the law will consider them as self-employed persons for tasks carried out on an ad-hoc basis. This may not be true. The determination of employment status is more intricate than simply by job title or industry. The law in Hong Kong categorises employees or independent contractors by substance rather than form. This means the term \u2018contractor\u2019 on your written contract is not conclusive. It is also false to think you must not be an employee if you have never signed a conventional contract. There is also not a hard and fast rule in delineating between the status of an employee and a contractor. Rather the court takes into account various aspects when coming to a decision. <\/span><\/p>\n

Subsequent to the Hong Kong case <\/span>Lee Ting Sang v Chung Chi-Keung<\/span><\/strong><\/span>, common factors that point to a relationship of employment include: <\/span><\/p>\n