Different service fees proposed for employers and employees

The local government has not changed its opinion with regard to service fee standards for employers and non-local employees in the employment agency business, according to the Third Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL).
Yesterday, government representatives from the labor affairs, economy and finance sectors submitted to the committee the working text of the law exclusively related to the employment agency businesses.
The local government has made no changes to the specifics of the law, aside from editing some sentences.
Vong Hin Fai, Chairman of the Third Standing Committee, highlighted the government’s consistent stance in regard to some of the pivotal proposals in the law.
The Macau SAR government still requires that local employment agencies not offer jobs for any non-local residents who are already in Macau. These non-local residents include blue-card workers and visitors, regardless of their nationality.
The second unchanged proposal is related to the employment service fee. The proposed amendment will allow employment agencies to charge an employer an unlimited service fee. However, an employment agency will still only be allowed to charge 50% of an employee’s first monthly salary.
Currently, Macau is not implementing the Private Employment Agencies Convention, an International Labour Organization convention which recommends that an employment company should not charge employees any service fee.
The Macau government explained that since Macau is not part of the convention, employment companies charging a service fee to job seekers do not violate legal principals.
As a member of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, the local government also believes that the service fee does not involve any discrimination against non-local workers.
The law amendment prescribed that the service fee should only be transferred 60 days after a non-local worker’s employment legal status is in effect.
In the local government’s opinion, the bill amendment will help prevent individuals from looking for jobs in Macau after entering the city as tourists. Without the measure, it claims that Macau’s employment market will become unstable.
The latest amendment also replaced the term “violator” with “suspect” when referring to any individuals who are involved in an administrative investigation procedure.
The amendment also proposed that an employment company’s license owner could be an individual, a group, or a company. If it is a joint-stock company, then the company should have three or more shareholders. Any shareholders owning over 10% of the company must go through a vetting procedure in relation to the person’s “integrity.” JZ