MPF default contributions: how rogue employers are pursued

This article is a rewrite of a report from August 2012.

(Editor’s note: isolated characters were missing in the original and have been conservatively restored from context.) What can workers do when employers skip MPF contributions? To protect members, the MPFA tightened oversight of evasion and arrears; an AXA insurance executive wrote then on the enforcement machinery behind MPF default contributions.

What is the “defaulter record”?

In May 2011 the MPFA created a “records of non-compliant employers and officers”, letting members check online (www.mpfa.org.hk) whether a company had been convicted of MPF offences in the past five years. Searching was simple: by date, keyword or business registration number.

What other enforcement tools existed?

Proactive inspections. In 2011–12 the authority inspected 3,042 establishments (restaurants, retail shops, construction sites); through persuasion and court action it recovered HK$164.2 million in arrears for employees. It received 4,494 complaints that year, mostly on arrears and missing enrolment.

How could workers protect themselves?

• One month after joining with no enrolment forms or sales documents received, chase the employer.
• Check the employer’s monthly contribution records, or ask the trustee for the last three months’ employer payments.
• If something’s wrong, enquire, complain or report to the MPFA — cases are handled confidentially, so no fear of losing your job.