Hong Kong domestic workers ‘abusing’ post-contract grace period, officials say, pointing to jump in work visa rejections

Immigration Department tells employment agencies number of helpers ‘job hopping’ has grown fourfold since they were granted an extra two weeks to find work

But domestic workers who spoke to the Post describe abusive environments they say provide every legitimate reason to seek different employers

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Hong Kong’s Immigration Department has complained that domestic workers are taking advantage of an extended grace period after their contracts end. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 3:39pm, 18 Nov 2021Updated: 10:31pm, 18 Nov 2021

Growing numbers of Hong Kong’s foreign domestic helpers are “abusing” a special arrangement that has allowed them to stay in the city for a month after their contracts have been terminated, officials have said, pointing to a major jump in the number of visas rejected over alleged “job hopping”.

The Immigration Department turned down 1,332 visa applications from domestic workers suspected of switching employers without a valid reason in the first nine months of 2021, up fourfold from all of last year, according to a Labour Department letter to employment agencies seen by the Post.

The letter warned that helpers were increasingly “abusing” the extended stay arrangement – introduced in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic – saying complaints about agencies inducing domestic workers to leave their employers had jumped to 120 in the first nine months of the year, from just 29 in the same period in 2020.

Domestic helpers who spoke to the Post said there were often very good reasons for switching employers. Photo: Felix Wong

But helpers who spoke to the Post said round-the-clock work hours, verbal attacks and lack of food were among the reasons they had left their employers in search of better ones.

The number of workers the government has accused of abusing the system accounts for 0.4 per cent of the domestic helper population in Hong Kong.

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