Hungary's consul-general may seek diplomatic immunity to avoid a potentially embarrassing legal clash after conciliation talks with a pregnant maid over her alleged unfair dismissal broke down yesterday.
Ninety minutes of discussions between Laszlo Vizi, his wife Katalin, their domestic helper Nanette Cajayon and a Labour Department arbitrator failed to find common ground.
The dispute now looks likely to take a legal twist as Mrs Cajayon, who says Budapest's envoy wants to terminate her contract because she is pregnant, intends to file for a Labour Tribunal hearing.
Mr Vizi says she is being sacked because of her poor performance and unreliability, not because of her pregnancy.
The Labour Department last night confirmed the matter had been transferred to the tribunal.
After yesterday's talks collapsed, Mrs Cajayon, 40, whose husband works in Hong Kong as a driver, said that during talks at the department's offices in Western Court, Mr Vizi, 43, raised the issue of diplomatic immunity.
'The [Labour Department] officer said she didn't know if it [diplomatic immunity] applied in this case and it would have to be looked into.