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EOC Welcomes District Court Ruling on a Disability Discrimination Case

09/12/2024

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) welcomes the District Court’s judgment on the assessment of damages in a disability discrimination case (DCEO 3/2024). In this case, a Customer Service Officer at a piano learning centre (the Claimant) was dismissed by her employer (the Respondent) on the ground of her disability and related sick leave during her probation period, constituting an unlawful disability discrimination act under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO). According to the judgment delivered by the Court on 28 November 2024, the Respondent is required to pay to the Claimant a sum of HK$143,000 for injury to feelings and loss of income.

The DDO covers acts of disability discrimination that occur in the field of employment. Under the DDO, it is unlawful for an employer to dismiss an employee on the ground of his/her disability.

Ms Linda LAM Mei-sau, EOC Chairperson said, “This judgment sends a strong reminder to all employers that it is unlawful to dismiss an employee on the ground of his/her disability and sick leave even if the employee is on probation period. In cases where an employee’s disability affects his/her job performance, the employer should consider first making reasonable accommodations to assist the employee in fulfilling the inherent requirements of the job.”

Ms Lam continued, “The written judgment mentioned that the Court has adjusted the amounts of different levels of damages for injury to feelings according to inflation. This provides an updated guideline for the Courts in Hong Kong in assessing damages for injury to feelings in discrimination cases in the future, which the EOC welcomes.”

Among the complaints received by the EOC, disability discrimination cases remain the majority. Between 2020 and 2023, the EOC received a total of 1 936 complaints lodged under the DDO, of which 1 235 complaints or over 60% occurred in the employment field. The EOC hopes that this ruling will make employers aware that they cannot discriminate against or dismiss employees on the ground of their disability. It also hopes that the ruling will encourage more victims to come forward and seek redress for unlawful discriminatory acts.

Following a default judgment entered in favour of the Claimant earlier, the Court awarded the Claimant a sum of $143,000 at the hearing of assessment of damages, of which HK$95,000 was for injury to feelings, and $48,000 was for loss of income, which was equivalent to the Claimant’s salary of three months. In addition, the Respondent was ordered to pay the Claimant’s legal costs for the assessment of damages.

In providing legal assistance to the Claimant, the EOC’s in-house lawyer represented the Claimant in conducting the case, issuing legal proceedings under the DDO and attended court hearings on her behalf.

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