Playing fair
I REFER to the letter 'Criticism of Immigration Department was totally ignored' (South China Morning Post, October 19).
Under the existing policy, foreign domestic helpers are allowed to come to Hong Kong and work for their employers as specified in their employment contracts for a period of two years. When a foreign domestic helper's employment contract has been terminated prematurely, the helper should return to his or her country of origin.
The stay of two weeks after the termination is to facilitate the helper in winding up his or her personal affairs (such as closing bank accounts and purchasing some personal items).
After the implementation of the two-week rule, the job-hopping situation among foreign domestic helpers has improved remarkably.
To ensure that the two-week rule is applied fairly, our officers exercise care and discretion in processing each and every case. This does not mean that the department has forgotten 'the declared purpose of the two-week rule' as claimed by Ms Jovita Leano. On the contrary, I think we will be severely criticised if we do not maintain the right kind of check and balance but enforce the two-week rule rigidly.
