Read the full judgment text of HCLA 000077/1986 on BabelCite. This HCLA judgment was delivered on 13 April 1987 before Penlington J.
Employment law – severance pay – lay-off – piece-rate workers in the garment industry – whether workers 'laid-off' within the meaning of section 31E of the Employment Ordinance (Cap 57) so as to qualify for severance pay under section 31B – effect of an alleged standing offer by the employer to pay workers a daily sum when no work was available – whether such an offer, originally made in 1980 and allegedly rejected, remained open in 1985/86 – whether an unaccepted offer can constitute 'a contract' for the purposes of section 31E – whether the High Court on appeal under the Labour Tribunal Ordinance (Cap 25) may reverse or vary a determination of fact – construction of section 31E's phrase 'under the contract' – findings of fact by the Presiding Officer that the 1980 offer was for a flat $50 a day and was not still open – application of contract law principles on the lapse of offers (Ramsgate Victoria Hotel Co v Montefiore; Manchester Diocesan Council for Education v Commercial and General Investments Ltd) and on the proper factual matrix for interpreting a transaction (Penn v Simmonds) – appeal by the employer Yick Fung Garment Factory Limited dismissed – claimants entitled to severance pay, with costs to the 3rd respondent and expenses of $160 each payable to the other claimants, and payment out of Court of the Labour Tribunal awards with interest under section 39(4) of the Labour Tribunal Ordinance from the date of filing of the claim.
Legal issues: Whether the 1980 offer to pay a daily sum was still open in 1985/86 so as to defeat a claim of lay-off · Whether an unaccepted offer can constitute a contract for the purposes of section 31E · Scope of the High Court's appellate jurisdiction over Labour Tribunal decisions on fact
Outcome: Appeal dismissed. The claimants were laid-off within the meaning of section 31E of the Employment Ordinance and were entitled to severance pay under section 31B.