MPF offender blacklist goes online next year, starting with 4,000 cases

A public blacklist of employers who breach the MPF Ordinance launches next year in Q2, published on the MPFA website. The first batch covers about 4,000 cases, including company names and some directors’ names, with a 5-year retention — offending employers get a clean slate after 5 years without reoffending.

What will the blacklist show?

Both civil-claim and criminal-prosecution cases — ordinance breaches and contribution defaults — from the past 5 years go online: employer company name, regulation breached, sentence and more. A search function lets the public enter a company name to see all its cases, split between one-off and repeat offenders.

Why publish it?

MPFA chief operating officer Alice Yu says the blacklist helps government departments vet bidders, and helps business partners, employees and banks — while deterring violations. Directors found involved get a warning during investigation; their names go online after conviction.

Which industries offend most?

The five most-prosecuted sectors are catering, retail, cleaning, security and construction, with high rates of contribution default. The MPFA is also publishing 20 common violation cases online, including “bogus self-employment” and “short-term contract” scenarios.

How serious is false “permanent departure” claims?

Repeat claims of accrued benefits on “permanent departure” grounds rose notably this year, reaching double digits in six months. The MPFA receives about 2,000 such claims monthly; it prosecuted 55 false-declaration cases in 2009 and 47 in the first 11 months this year. Yu warns: trustees report every declaration to the MPFA, so repeat early claims are impossible to hide.

Workers wanting to check employer contributions can learn how at the MPF education hub.