Sacked consultant in TV licence row sues former employer for HK$4m
Labour Tribunal told company failed to pay bonuses and pay compensation
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 15 April, 2014, 4:40pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 15 April, 2014, 10:37pm
Ada Lee [email protected]
Jenny Ng Pui-ying, the former head of the Hong Kong office of Spectrum Strategy Consultants, said her former employer promised to pay her a bonus of US$300,000 before the end of last year, but never did. Photo: Felix Wong
A consultant who was sacked after speaking out over the government’s controversial decision on free-to-air TV licences is seeking HK$4 million from her former employer.
Jenny Ng Pui-ying, the former head of the Hong Kong office of Spectrum Strategy Consultants, said the company failed to pay bonuses that it had promised and compensation for holidays she did not take.
The company, also known as Value Partners, compiled a study report on free-to-air television licences for the government. After the government announced the rejection of Hong Kong Television Network’s application in October, Ng accused the government of misquoting her firm’s report on the competitive landscape of the free-television market.
Ng quit her job in February but before she left, the company dismissed her.
She told the Labour Tribunal yesterday that she quit her job because she received funding of US$15million to start a new business relating to technology. She said she was unable to talk to the CEO of the Italian company since January, and felt there was no more trust between the company and her.
Maurizio Minelli, a manager for the company, told the tribunal that Ng was sacked because she diverted business to other companies, worked for competitors and disclosed confidential information of clients.
Ng denied the claims. She said the company promised to pay her a bonus of US$300,000 before the end of last year, but it never did.
Principal presiding officer Eric Tam Lee-cheung said Ng would have a good chance of getting the bonus and HK$300,000 compensation for statutory holidays that she did not take if the case continued. He suggested the parties settle for about HK$2.875 million.
Tam also criticised the company for not being able to distinguish contractual leave from statutory leave, when Minelli said it was policy that holidays could not be carried forward to another year. He said Ng was entitled to her statutory holidays even if she could not take them all in a year.
He also called Minelli’s argument that Ng was only entitled to her bonus if she was supportive towards the company “rubbish”. He said the agreement between Ng and the company chief executive was not subject to any condition.
Minelli said the company needed more time to consider, and the chief executive might come from Italy to Hong Kong to give evidence.
The case was adjourned to next month.
