The government announced yesterday that it is proposing to raise the maximum amount of compensation that an employee in the private sector will be entitled to receive after he or she has been dismissed without justified reasons from the current 252,000 patacas to 258,000 patacas.
Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Director Wong Chi Hong made the remarks while speaking to reporters after a regular closed-door meeting of the Standing Council on Social Concerted Action at the World Trade Centre Macau (WTCM) in Zape.
The Standing Council on Social Concerted Action is a government-appointed consultative body tasked with advising the government on its labour policies.
Yesterday’s meeting was chaired by Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong.
The Labour Relations Law lays out calculation rules for the amounts of compensation an employer is required to pay his or her employee who has been dismissed without justified reasons, such as laying off workers.
According to the law, the compensation amount depends on the length of time the employee has been working for the employer before his or her employment is terminated.
For example, according to the law, an employer is required to pay a dismissed employee who had worked for over five years and up to seven years a compensation equivalent to the number of years of employment multiplied by his or her 15-day salary, while an employer is required to pay those who had worked for over 10 years a compensation equivalent to the number of years of employment multiplied by his or her 20-day salary.
According to the law, a dismissed employee who had worked for up to one year is entitled to a compensation equivalent to his or her seven-day salary provided that he or she completed his or her probation period.
However, according to the law, the amount of a dismissed employee’s monthly salary used to calculate his or her compensation is capped at 21,000 patacas, regardless of the amount of his or her monthly salary before his or her termination of employment.
According to the law, a dismissed employee is only entitled to a compensation of up to 252,000 patacas regardless of the length of years he or she had worked for the employer.
Yesterday’s meeting of the council discussed the government’s proposal to raise the maximum amount of compensation that an employee is entitled to receive after he or she has been dismissed without justified reasons.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Wong said that the government is proposing to raise the maximum amount of a dismissed employee’s monthly salary used to calculate his or her compensation by 500 patacas, from the current 21,000 patacas to 21,500 patacas.
According to Wong, the government is proposing to raise the maximum amount of compensation from the current 252,000 patacas to 258,000 patacas.
Wong said that the government has come up with the proposals after considering the city’s current economic conditions.
Wong noted that the proposed raised amounts will require amendments to the Labour Relations Law, pledging that the government will submit an amendment bill to the Legislative Assembly (AL) as soon as possible.
Fong Ka Fai, a member of the council representing the labour sector, told reporters after the meeting that he agrees with the proposed increased amounts proposed by the government.
Vong Kok Seng, a member of the council representing the business sector, told reporters that the business sector does not agree with the government’s proposal to raise the compensation amounts, saying that the amounts should be kept unchanged considering the current business environment that local small- and medium-sized enterprises are facing.
Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Director Wong Chi Hong talks to reporters at the World Trade Centre Macau in Zape yesterday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
