| Course Details |
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| (Webinar via Zoom) Employment Law Essentials: Contracts, Covenants, Termination and Claims |
| Date: |
24 June 2026 (Wednesday) |
| Time: |
2:30pm - 5:45pm |
| Level: |
I (Intermediate)
For delegates who have prior knowledge of the subject area |
| Language: |
English |
| Fee: |
HK$ 1,850 |
| Accreditation: |
(3 CPD Points will be applied for) |
| Ref: |
L26EM01 |
| Venue: |
Webinar Course
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Presenter's Biography:
Michael Szeto is a litigation partner of ONC Lawyers and heads the firm's Employment practice. He has over 25 years of experience in handling complex commercial dispute resolution, shareholders' and joint venture disputes, bankruptcy and insolvency matters, debt recovery and mortgagee actions. He also routinely deals with regulatory actions and compliance matters under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, the Hong Kong listing rules and anti-money laundering laws and guidelines.
On the employment side, Michael often advises on various contentious and non-contentious employment matters, covering contract reviews, termination disputes, injunctive relief, discrimination and harassment claims, data privacy matters, as well as advice on matters relating to team moves, remuneration packages and employee incentive schemes. He is an author to Hong Kong employment law manuals and frequently publishes employment law articles in industry publications. He frequently gives talks to legal and human resource professionals. Michael has been recognised as a Lexology Legal Influencer in Employment & Immigration (Individual Expert) for Q1, Q3, Q4 2021, Q1-Q4 2022 and Q2 2023.Drawing on his experience in property and private client matters, he has been a Professional Consultant at the Faculty of Law of the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2023, teaching conveyancing and probate practice on its Postgraduate Certificate in Laws course. He has also been appointed by the Hong Kong Government as a member of the Appeal Panel (Estate Agents Ordinance), involving in the handling of appeals against the licensing or disciplinary decisions of the Estate Agents Authority.
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Objective:
This course provides a practical, end to end overview of the employment relationship, from hiring through to termination and dispute resolution. It will focus on: how to structure employment contracts at the outset; the key statutory entitlements under the Employment Ordinance; strategies for protecting the business through confidentiality clauses and restrictive covenants; and the main legal and practical challenges that arise when employment ends, including dismissal, redundancy and bonus entitlement on termination. The course will also examine how discrimination issues can impact termination decisions and will conclude with a guide to resolving disputes through early settlement, Labour Department and Equal Opportunities Commission conciliation and investigations, Labour Tribunal proceedings and civil proceedings. This course will be presented by way of overview with particular focus on those issues that most frequently give rise to disputes between employers and employees.
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Outline:
- Starting an employment relationship
- Typical structure and key clauses in an employment contract
- Bonuses
- Fixed-term vs continuous employment
- Core statutory entitlements under the Employment Ordinance
- Overview of key protections
- Maternity leave and related protections
- Sick leave and sickness allowance
- Annual leave and rest days
- Termination payments: notice, payment in lieu, severance, long service and end-of-year payments
- Protecting the business: confidentiality clauses and restrictive covenants
- Confidentiality clauses
- Non competition, non solicitation, and non poaching clauses
- What makes a confidentiality clause not enforceable?
- What makes a restrictive covenant not enforceable?
- Practical drafting tips and common pitfalls
- Ending the relationship: common termination challenges
- Termination by notice or payment in lieu of notice
- Summary dismissal
- Unreasonable dismissal
- Redundancy
- How discrimination laws intersect with termination of employment
- Whether an employee remains entitled to a bonus on termination of employment
- Resolving employment disputes
- Early resolution strategies and without prejudice discussions
- Labour Department investigations and conciliation through Labour Relations Division
- Equal Opportunities Commission investigations and conciliation
- Labour Tribunal claims and transfer to District Court or Court of First Instance
- Appeal to the Court of First Instance
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| Category: |
Employment Law |
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Bookings & Payments
To reserve a seat, please fax the completed booking form to us. We will send out a written Booking Confirmation either by fax or by email to confirm your booking, normally within 48 hours after receiving the booking form. Payment should be made upon we send the Booking Confirmation to you, or together with the booking form if the booking is received within seven (7) days of the course. You are advised to contact us to confirm your place if you have not received the Booking Confirmation prior to the commencement of the course.
Cancellation
In case of cancellation of a booking, you must inform us in writing at least seven (7) days before the date of the course, and a full refund will be issued (less of HK$300 administration fee). Cancellation of unpaid bookings will incur a HK$300 administration fee and the cancellation will not be deemed effective until payment of such fee is received. No refunds will be given and any outstanding amounts remain payable in full if the written notice of cancellation is made less than (7) days before the date of the course.
Transfer
If you cannot attend a booked course, you must inform us in writing at least 24 hours before the commencing time of the course. You may then:
- Transfer the booking to a replacement delegate;( Not available for Individual Discount Packages)
- Transfer your booking to another course, to be held before 31 October 2026; or
- Request a credit voucher, to be used on another LexOmnibus CPD course to be held before 31 October 2026.
No attendance
Once a booking is confirmed and no written notice of cancellation is received by us within the specified time as mentioned above, if a delegate has not settled the payment for a course and fails to attend, for whatever reason, the course fee will remain payable in full. To be awarded CPD points, full attendance of all parts of the conference is required. If you arrive later, or fail to attend a course, your course fee will not be waived, refunded or a credit voucher issued.
Weather
In the event that the No.8 typhoon signal is hoisted or the Black Rain Storm warning is raised within 2.5 hours of the course or is due to be raised during the course, the course will be cancelled. In the event of cancellation due to bad weather, the course will be rescheduled or a credit note issued. No refunds will be given.
Record of Attendance
A certificate of attendance can be provided at a cost of HK$40. Alternatively, a verification of attendance in letter format, along with the original payments receipt is available, at a cost HK$40. Please apply in writing to request either a certificate or verification letter subsequent to the course.
Conference Venue
All the conferences, except webinars, will be taken place in Central. The address of the conference venue will be notified by email, and via the website.
Other Terms
- We may reschedule, vary the details of a course at any time without liability. If we cancel or reschedule the course, except due to the weather conditions indicated, a credit note will be issued.
- Any bank charges and/or expenses incurred as a result of bounced cheques shall be borne by the delegates.
- LexOmnibus will not issue an invoice for registration of a course except under special circumstances and LexOmnibus reserves the right to charge an administration fee for providing that service.
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